Humanity
by NiceIceEdward
Summary: When Isabella Swan comes to Forks High School, Edward feels forced to leave, leaving the Cullens in a quandary, and bringing the new girl into the Cullen family’s notice. A Jasper/Bella fic.
1. Necessity

Title: Humanity  
Author: NiceIceEdward  
Character(s)/Pairing: Jasper/Bella and the rest of the common crew  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: Twilight  
Summary: Edward leaves suddenly in reaction to a new girl in school, leaving the Cullen's in a quandary, and bringing the new girl into the Cullen families notice.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this all belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the creative genius, who I owe all my playful hours to.

Chapter I  
Necessity

We stood on the side of the road looking at each other, watching Edward speed away. Each of us looked at Alice. "He's going to Denali." She said, when she realized everyone was looking at her.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "What happened?"

She looked at all of us, each wondering the same thing. "Let's get home, Esme should hear about this too, because the only one Edward's going to explain himself to is Carlisle. She's going to be so broken hearted."

We all ran towards the house. Once we reached it, everyone congregated around the dining room table as we always did for family discussions. It was strange not having Carlisle and Edward there, but not entirely unheard of.

Alice called softly to Esme, who walked into the room a moment later carrying a handful of fresh cut flowers from outside. "Hello love's, is everything all right?" She looked around the table, "Where's Edward?"

"That's what I called you down to talk to you about." Alice replied to Esme's question. Esme looked concerned.

"Has something happened?" She asked.

"Yes, he nearly had an accident at school today. There's a new girl, Isabella Swan, she's Chief Swan's daughter. Edward had a class with her, she walked past him and...I'm not sure I can explain it, her blood was stronger to him than anything I've ever smelled. It attacked him in a way I've never heard of. It was ten times worse than coming across human's scents in the middle of a hunt. I've never felt anything like it. He nearly took the entire class out in his mind. Edward barely averted a complete disaster so he fled to Denali. He doesn't believe he's strong enough to face her again without killing her."

Emmett spoke up, his face was something I'd never seen before, frightened. "I think I know what you mean, I came across someone who was like that for me. It was incredible...and tragic." He said, his eyes unfocusing, then the corners of his mouth curled upward in a look of wicked amusement,. "Hah! I'd like to give Edward hell, can't believe he didn't just follow his instinct."

Esme shot an unusual, glaring look at him, "Emmett!"

Emmett's look of amusement vanished, and he looked abashed, "Oops, sorry Mom."

Esme turned back to Alice again, "How long will he be gone." she asked.

Alice's eyes winced, and she scowled, "Well, his intention is just to go up there to get over it, but I've had a vision, and Edward is getting himself into far worse complications than he could have had staying and just dealing with this girl. He's going to try again with Tanya," There was a moan all around the table, everyone remembered the uncomfortable days around the two of them the last time Tanya had thrown herself at Edward. I couldn't be around her to this day, just because of the mere memory of it. "and Irina isn't going to be at all pleased about it. Not only because she's decided she'd make a good partner for Edward, but also because she doesn't think Tanya deserves to be happy. Tanya's actions caused Irina's last mate to run away."

Emmett guffawed and everyone looked at him, "What?" he said when he looked around, "I just imagined what she did to make the poor bastard run. You all know what Tanya's like. She's terrifying."

"Revolting would be a better description." I said under my breath, and naturally everyone heard and began laughing. I looked at Esme apologetically, she smiled kindly back to me. It was fortunate that Esme and I felt similarly about Tanya.

"So when did Edward leave?" Esme asked.

"He just left, he dropped us by the side of the road and said Alice would explain it to us, and then sped off." I told her.

"We ran home so we could talk about it with you." Alice followed.

Esme looked around the room, frowning "Do you think we should leave Forks?"

I answered, "I think that decision should be made when Carlisle's home to cast his vote."

Esme's look of concern melted away and she smiled at me again, "Of course, yes. Is Carlisle aware of what's happened?"

Alice answered her, "Edward was leaving to go see Carlisle right away. Although he did have to go towards Forks to do it. He's definitely struggling with whether to go see Carlisle, or just show up at Chief Swan's house."

Esme hissed, making Alice jump.

"I'm sure he'll go see Carlisle Mom. I'm just trying to convey the seriousness of the situation." Alice said quickly.

Esme relaxed. We all did. I looked around the table, "Well, I suppose then we can wait to talk about this until our Father is home." I said.

Everyone agreed and we all went off in our separate directions. Alice floated up the stairs ahead of me, heading for our room. She got inside and came to a full stop right in front of me. Recognizing her action, I stepped around her until I was facing her, to see if I could read her emotions. Concern, worry, annoyance, and finally sadness as her eyes cleared and she returned from her vision.

"Jasper, I'm going to join Edward eventually, he's going to need help with this situation with Irina. I'm the only one who can help him, although it looks like Rosalie and Emmett will come along as well. I didn't see you, Would you rather remain here? I know how you feel about Tanya." she asked.

I ran a finger over the back of her hand, looking down at it, so tiny for one so strong. "I think not Alice. I can't bear to be around that sort of woman, I couldn't tolerate them, even when I was human. She's so common, and forward." I shuddered and Alice laughed.

"Once in a very great while Jazz, you are precious." she grinned at me.

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, returning her smile. I turned and walked toward the window, "When will you go?" I asked.

"Not for a while yet, but I just wanted to let you know I will be going, so you're prepared. Especially since Rose and Emmett are going as well. I know you dislike the lonely hours."

I turned and smiled sheepishly back at her, "I'll find something to do during them, I'll manage." I said, mocking her concern.

She turned and picked up a catalogue off the dresser, "I'm sure of it." she said smiling, and already beginning to lose herself in mental shopping. I looked back out the window. It was dark, but not total darkness. No human eyes would detect the growing light, but mine could. I could discern clouds in the blackened ceiling covering the trees. They reflected the coming light, making it easy to separate them from the dense darkness beyond them. It would rain tomorrow. I sighed, that meant I would have to go to school.

It had been awhile since Edward had left, the weather had gone through it's strange changes, and we were on our way to school in Emmett's jeep, because the ground was slick with frozen snow.

We were nearly to the school when Alice suddenly went blank. When she refocused again she turned and looked at me, her face surprised, frightened and concerned. I gave her a questioning look, and she shook me off, flashing her eyes in Rosalie and Emmett's direction then looking at me pointedly. She wanted to wait until we were out of their earshot. I nodded to let her know I understood.

We pulled into the parking lot. We were very early today and the only car there so far. Rosalie and Emmett were laughing about something, and walked off in the direction of their class. Everyone was a little more relaxed without Edward in their heads. We all missed him, but didn't miss his abilities. Privacy is never appreciated until it's taken away.

When Rose and Emmett were a safe distance away, Alice turned to me, urgency in her eyes. "Jasper, Isabella Swan is about to come to school, I don't know exactly why, but she's going to be standing near the back of her truck, and Tyler Crowley's van is going to lose control on the ice. She'll be smashed to death and crushed ultimately. Should we get Emmett and Rose out of here before we're all exposed to her blood?" she asked me urgently.

"Why are you getting visions of this Swan girl?" I asked perplexed. She generally only saw the family.

She looked frustrated, "I don't know, it's been happening ever since Edward left, I think he brought her into my attention. I even had a vision at one point that she became one of us. Ridiculous, it's just that I'm aware of her now." she answered.

"Well, I think we ought to do something to avert the danger. We should get the Swan girl's attention and keep her from getting hit."

Alice looked at me stunned for a minute and then tilted her head. "Of course, you're right. I was so caught up in the family I didn't even think about it. It would crush Chief Swan to lose her. Ok, well, let's see - she'll park there, we could walk by at that moment and call her over to us. She was looking over at the rear tire for some reason, so we need to be able to see what it is, and get her away from it right then."

As Alice finished explaining this, I heard the horrendous sound of Isabella Swan's truck trudging up the road towards the school. I looked up and watched her pulling in, heading for the parking spot.

"Ok, that's our cue my little mischief maker." I said to Alice.

We walked over past the front of her truck, she hopped out and true to Alice's vision she stepped back towards the tire. Alice called out to her right at that moment. "Isabella?" Alice said, as we both slowed to a human pace.

The girl turned, and her eyes seemed a little misty. Hastily rearranging her features and walking towards us, she said, "Bella."

Alice looked at her confused, "Huh?"

She looked at her with her head tilted as she reached us on the sidewalk, "It's Bella, Only my Dad calls me Isabella."

"Oh!" Alice smiled as she realized what the girl meant, "Well I was just wondering - " at that moment, the screeching from Tyler Crowley's van began. It lost its traction and began to slide quickly towards the Swan gir-Bella's truck. The two vehicles smashed loudly into each other a moment later, and after a second of shocked surprise, the entire parking lot erupted into loud calls. Everyone ran over to Tyler's window to see if he was all right, Everyone except Alice, Bella and I standing by the front of her car, and Rosalie and Emmett standing near the break between the buildings that lead to the office. Both were looking very suspiciously at Alice and me.

Bella stood transfixed, I could feel her concern for the boy, and her hesitation to involve herself. After a minute or two staring at Tyler's passenger window, watching Tyler being pulled out by practically the whole student body, Bella noticed the back of her truck, which had been crumpled and crushed over the rear driver's side tire. She moaned loudly, no small feat with the den of noise surrounding us.

"Oh no! How am I ever going to pay for that?" she slumped.

This girl needed some perspective. "Bella, you were just standing there. Thank God Alice called you over. You could have been killed." I informed her.

It caused the reaction I desired, she realized how right I was. It also caused a reaction I hadn't desired, she suddenly fainted, lurching backward and landing right in my arms, leaving Alice and I looking at each other with comical confusion.

"Now what?" I asked her.


	2. Assisting

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this all belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the creative genius, who I owe all my playful hours to.

Chapter II  
Assisting

Alice and I took Bella to the nurse's office, it took only a minor explanation on Alice's part to convince the nurse that Bella had been overcome by Tyler's accident and her own near miss. I laid Bella out on the bed in the office, and then turned and walked out as quickly as I could. Seeing my hasty departure, Alice made a quick excuse about our being late for classes, and then caught up with me just outside the building, leaning against the wall. I was clearing my senses, having been surprised by the smell of her blood.

I've grown so accustomed to always being around my family, when I find myself in close proximity to humans, it often becomes unbearable. My strength has only improved recently, but it is still such a tenuous thing. Alice came up to me and waited, understanding my reaction. After a moment, I nodded to her and we walked off to our first class.

We made it through the whole day without seeing Bella Swan again. She was busy with her own classes and questions about her truck. Her Dad came by to visit her after school. As we walked past on our way to Emmett's jeep, Bella looked up at us. Her face was resigned, her father's expression was assessing, and was obviously unhappy about what he was finding. She gave a small wave and mouthed "thanks" to us. Alice and I both smiled back at her and walked on to Emmett's jeep.

We hopped in, closed the doors and Rosalie angrily turned on us, "What the he-"

"Rose, I had a vision on the way in this morning that Tyler Crowley's van was going to crush the Swan girl, I asked Jasper if he thought I should notify you two so we could all leave, but he recommended we just distract her and avoid the accident. We didn't do anything terrible, so just leave off it, ok. Whatever argument you have I've already seen, just let it go so I don't have to embarrass you with pre-conceived answers." Alice cleanly interrupted Rosalie, expecting the attack.

Rosalie ruffled, but really couldn't counter it without validating Alice's threat, so she turned forward, and seethed quietly all the way home. She looked out of her passenger window, and Emmett turned back to Alice and grinned amusedly behind Rose's back. Rosalie threw her arm out and smacked him in the chest so hard he hiccupped, "What?" he cried, giving her an innocent, injured look. Rosalie glared at him for a moment and then turned around again. Emmett caught my eyes in the rear view mirror and I had to stifle a laugh and avert my eyes out the window, at the smirk on his face. Emmett loved trouble, if it involved Rose, so much the better.

We all climbed out of Emmett's jeep, and walked in to see if Carlisle had heard from Edward yet. It was becoming a nightly ritual. Irina's initial annoyance at Edward's arrival, and Tanya's revitalized attempt to win him over quickly escalated Irina to petty jealousy. She was planning dangers and attempts on Edward and Tanya both, left and right. We were waiting to hear Edward call to say he'd decided to return home, but apparently Tanya's other sister Kate wasn't ready to lose her yet.

As we walked in the door, Carlisle and Esme were sitting on the couch. Carlisle's expression was expectant, and calm, but something in his face told me he'd heard from Edward and it wasn't good.

Alice suddenly turned to me and popped up on her toes and kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry Jazz." she said. I looked at her confused, and then at Carlisle. All I was getting from them both was a feeling of something like inevitability. Carlisle looked at Alice and then sighed slightly. "Edward's phoned, Irina blew up a portion of the forest trying to drop Edward and Tanya down an old mineshaft today. Everyone is furious with her, but Edward feels being able to foresee these attempts might be in his favor, so he's asked if you would join him in Denali for the time being Alice."

Alice nodded, "Of course, I'll go up and pack now."

Carlisle turned to me, "Jasper, you're free to go with Alice if you'd like, though we all know how you feel about Tanya." Esme and I exchanged a knowing look, and I looked back at Carlisle, "It's not in my nature to back down from a fight, but if it's one I don't need to honor, well, I'd prefer to avoid it if possible. Being that it involves Tanya, I'd like to avoid it completely. Alice and I have already agreed I'll stay behind with you." Carlisle nodded, and then he and Esme stood to leave the room, Emmett spoke then, "What about Rose and me? I'd like to go, if Irina's giving Edward trouble, I'd be happy to help keep her in line." Emmett asked, a smirk playing around his mouth again.

Carlisle frowned, "I'm not sure that's wise Emmett, we don't want to antagonize Irina further."

"Oh, I won't antagonize Irina, I promise." I picked up on the feelings of mischief my brother was giving off and felt a moments pity for Tanya, but far be it from me to spoil his fun. I just turned around and walked upstairs to spend a few moments with Alice before she left. As I walked up, I heard Carlisle okay Emmett's request to go. Emmett turned and came running up the stairs, grinning gleefully, bounding quickly up them two at a time, knocking me into the wall as he ran by. I reached out and threw him forward over the last 3 steps, and he hit the wall at the top of the stairs and let out a booming laugh, sarcastically calling back at me, "Skinny little punk, are we going to test this again?" I laughed, "No! I'm going to go say goodbye to my wife, and you're going to get berated by yours." I said knowingly as Rosalie passed me in the hallway following Emmett. I stood in our bedroom door watching as Emmett looked at Rosalie. The smile which still danced in his eyes suddenly crumbled. "Man! I never get to enjoy anything fun!" He pouted as he headed into his bedroom door with Rose looking stern and following close behind him.

Alice's giggle tinkled from the closet beyond our room. I chuckled too, and closed the door after me.

The next day was overcast, so school was no problem. I ran there, because I didn't want to take either Rosalie's bright shining money-mobile, nor Emmett's jeep, which was more of a statement of irresponsibility than anything. One of these days, I really was going to have to get a car of my own. I'd grown so accustomed to just riding with my brothers and sisters it hadn't really been a problem up to now. I went in early, to avoid anyone seeing me running, although it was so much more direct when going through the forest that I was terribly early. I took up a spot underneath the covered sidewalk outside the front office.

I was standing there an hour later, reading through an old copy of Bleak House I'd read at least a thousand times when I heard shuffling and felt embarrassment coming from someone who was walking down the hall. It didn't occur to me to look up, our family never spoke with any of the students at any of the schools we'd been to. So when two feet stopped before me, and I looked up into Bella Swan's deep brown eyes, I was surprised by her lack of fear or confusion. Most kids shied away from us.

She spoke, "Thank you for taking me to the nurse's yesterday. I would have given you a proper thanks yesterday, but Cha-, I mean my Dad wasn't very happy about the situation with my truck."

"You're welcome." I replied. Her embarrassment slipped away, and I sensed a hesitation, as if she had a question, but didn't really want to ask it. She smiled then, and turned away, "see you." She said, pulling her backpack up on her shoulder. "Goodbye." I replied.

She walked away, and at the corner of the building turned and disappeared, never looking back. Those rare few who did speak to one of us for whatever unusual reason drove them to it, always walked away and stole a glance at us, when they felt they were a safe distance away. So far, Bella Swan never seemed to do what I thought she would. She was, unusual I decided.

The day passed abysmally slow. Relearning the same lessons year in and year out was the penance for eternity our family made. Occasionally the lessons would push me into boredom. Our English teacher asked for a volunteer to go to the office and bring a roster sheet back for extra credit. I was straight A every year, and didn't really need it, but thought it would be a nice escape from class.

I stepped out, walking towards the office. I got to the corner of the building and realized I could feel worry coming from around the corner. I stepped around it and looked. Mike Newton was about 20 feet away standing over Bella Swan who was lying on the pavement at his feet, her face pressed against the cool concrete. She was pale, and sweating, and I could feel her annoyance and also...she seemed to be nauseous. I walked over and looked down at her. "I'll help if you'd like me to Bella."

She opened an eye and looked up at me balefully, "Mmmh" she moaned. I chuckled and looked at the boy, "What do you think that meant." He was looking back at me as if he wondered if I could be trusted. After a minute he apparently decided I wasn't a threat, because he explained, "We're doing blood typing in biology today. The teacher asked me to take her to the nurse, but she doesn't seem to want to go any further."

I leaned down and lifted her off the pavement, I looked at the boy, "If you don't mind, I'd prefer it if you come too. I brought Bella into the nurses office the day Tyler Crowley crashed his van into her truck because she fainted. They're going to think I'm attacking her and delivering her to them as my alibi."

I smirked at him, best not to show him my teeth, or he'd be frightened, I didn't need to make any enemies.

The boy chuckled and said, "Sure." and fell in step next to me.

We walked companionably into the office, when the nurse looked up and saw me with Bella in my arms she laughed. "What are you doing to this girl Mr. Hale? I'm going to have to report you soon if this keeps up." I smiled back at her as the boy explained from behind me, "Bella fainted in Biology, we're doing blood typing." Bella opened her eyes as I stepped back after setting her down, I was careful not to breathe.

"Thanks, again." she said through only slightly opened eyes. She was still a little green. I smiled. "My pleasure Bella. Watch over her." I said to the boy who grinned back at me. "I don't think she should go back to that class." I said to the nurse. She laughed and nodded her head. "I'll let her leave Mr. Hale, thank you." I walked out and went into the main office, asked for the roster sheet and headed back to my class.

At the end of the day I saw the girl walking from the gym towards the parking lot. She looked much better than she had when I'd last seen her. Mike Newton was following her and I could feel her annoyance again. the boy was giving off quite a lot of frustrated desperation and I felt a little sorry for each of them for different reasons. I decided however, to help the girl.

I risked speeding up a little, no one noticed, too busy trying to get out of school. From just behind them, I asked "Feeling better now, Bella?" she rounded on me with a look of fierce annoyance, but seeing it was me and not Mike Newton, who stood to my right exclaimed "Oh!" in surprise. Mike coughed just then, "I have to go, I'll see you later Bella." he waved to me as he ran off. Bella turned back to me again.

"Yah, Yes. I'm feeling fine now, nothing a little embarrassment in gym class couldn't cure me of." She turned around and walked again, and I don't know why, but I fell into step next to her. "You look better. You were almost green earlier." she laughed, it was a human laugh, but nice regardless.

"I can believe that." She looked up suddenly, behind me, "Where are all your brother's and sister's?" she asked. She had that hesitant feeling coming off her again. Whatever it was she wanted to ask me had to do with my family. I wondered what it was, and found myself suddenly a little jealous of Edward's ability, wishing I could read her mind.

"They've gone out of town visiting family. I'm the most recent addition to the family, and I don't really get along with those particular cousins. I decided to stay behind and finish the year out."

She looked around the parking lot. "So how did you get to school then?" she asked.

I was stunned by the fact that she'd noticed something so inane. "Well, I...walked." it wasn't entirely untrue. I had walked out of the trees and onto the school grounds.

"I thought so, want a ride? It's the least I can do for being my personal medical assistant lately." She smiled, it was a disarming smile. I found myself smiling back. Could I? "Sure." I decided.

"Great, hop in." she said as she opened the door to her absolutely sad truck, and climbed inside. I walked around at human speed to the other side and climbed in, rolling the window down. "You're going to have to tell me where you live, because I have no idea."

"Fine, you drive, I'll direct. Does that work?" astonishingly I found myself smiling at her again.

"That works just fine." Bella backed up, and pulled out of the parking lot, I pointed in the direction to our house and as she began to drive down the highway, she turned on the heater. "Why don't you have a car...it's Jasper, right?" she asked.

The scent of her struck me, it wasn't strong the way Alice said it was for Edward, still, I could smell the blood flowing in her veins being this close, and I wondered to myself if Bella Swan was going to make it home that night.


	3. Drops

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this all belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the creative genius, who I owe all my playful hours to.

Chapter III  
Drops

I was carrying on the most ridiculously simple conversation, and still having trouble concentrating. I struggled to remember that this was a girl I had saved only days ago, that it had been my idea to do so. She leaned over and turned the heater down, but it did nothing to dispel the scent of her wafting around me. I stuttered trying to explain my reasons for not having a car. My inner struggle caused me to let my guard down and I answered much more honestly than I would have otherwise.

"I, I've always been able to ride with Edward or Rosalie. I've just never worried about having my own vehicle. It seemed an unnecessary expenditure. Our family hasn't ever been split up for any measurable amount of time since I've become part of it, so I've always had a ride when I've needed it." I said feebly. I was taking small breaths, forcing myself to be accustomed to her scent. I could do this, I could be strong, I could have an ordinary conversation with an ordinary girl in the middle of an otherwise mundane car ride.

Bella smiled, never taking her eyes off the road and driving so slow I almost believed she was trying to torture me. "Well, maybe now is a good time to start thinking about one. You wouldn't need much, a used car would probably be fine." Even in my struggle the humor of that improbability struck me and I laughed. Somehow laughing seemed to make it easier being in the truck with her. "If I bought a used car, I'd be disowned. Edward alone would never speak to me again. Rosalie would probably leave marks. Also, Emmett isn't anyone you ever want disgusted with you. He makes it very clear to everyone how he feels." I looked to see her reaction to my words and was surprised to see she looked a little angry, and I could feel frustration, and that same hesitancy I kept feeling around her again.

"What's wrong Bella?" I asked, the curiosity getting the better of me.

Her eyes sprung open and she looked at me for just a moment. "What? Oh, no, nothing. I was only, it's just, I-I've been..." she took a deep breath and sighed. She rolled her eyes and I felt resignation coming from her. "You spoke of your brother Edward. He, I don't think he likes me very much."

I knew exactly what she was talking about, but felt I ought to pretend I didn't. "I'm sure that's not true. Edward's usually too caught up in himself to be upset with anyone. What led you to believe he disliked you?" I asked.

Bella slowed down and pulled to the side of the road, I felt my jaw clench. How did I get myself into this situation. She turned and looked me straight in the face. Her expression was so intense I almost felt as if she was reading my mind. "The first day we had biology together, I walked into class and past Edward on my way to get my schedule signed by Mr. Banner. He looked at me like he hated me. I'd never even done more than look at him, and he gave me a look that made me feel like a bothersome fly he wanted to crush. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I know what I saw." she finished defiantly, her tone and expression daring me to argue with her.

I chuckled, this seemed to surprise her. She looked at me with her eyebrows raised, I looked out the window, leaning out a little to take as deep a breath of air as I could, then turned back to her, "Bella, my brother is sometimes a bit tactless. He's moderately anti-social and occasionally disgraces us all with irrational reactions. For being someone who 'positively loathes - his own words-" I said while giving her a significant look "being judged, he is the most judgemental person I know. Please don't trouble yourself to be offended by him. I'm very sure he was beating himself up for something, probably misuse of an adverb, and you happen to be on the receiving end of his inner turmoil."

Bella let out a deep breath that I felt certain she hadn't realized she was holding. I felt relief coming off her. I had with a few words made her feel easier, and I was stunned to realize I liked knowing I'd done so. She looked out into the forest through the windshield. "I couldn't figure out what I had done to cause that response, and it felt so unfair. Then he disappeared and I wasn't able to even confront him about it." she blushed, causing me to stop breathing again. For a moment I actually think my head swam. She continued, "I was afraid he left because of me." she was looking down at the floor of the truck bed.

"Bella," I said, she lifted her face to me and her deep brown eyes were just a little glassy, as though tears were being fought back. "if that was true, he'd be a very foolish soul in my opinion." I smiled fully, and it didn't seem to frighten her. In fact, she beamed back at me. Our eyes held for a moment and I realized I was breathing normally again. Then she turned her body forward again and putting the truck into gear, headed back out onto the road.

I looked at the back of the truck as we passed under the light from a hotel on the side of the road, and saw the damaged corner of the bed. "What are you going to do about that?" I asked her, thumbing towards the drivers rear corner. She glanced into her rear view mirror, then looked at the road again. "My Dad and I are going to see a friend of his down in LaPush at the reservation this weekend. His son works on cars and stuff, we're going to see if he can fix it."

I jerked my head around to look at her when she said the name of the city in the Quileute reservation. Did she know something? She didn't look as if she did, she kept talking.

"Do you know any of the Quileute's?" she asked. I couldn't feel anything false in the emotions coming off her, she was genuinely just curious.

"No, our family stays away from La Push." I said. I wanted to avoid any conversation that kept her on the topic of the Quileute's so I said, "How is it being Chief Swan's daughter and new in town?" I asked. That should be safe enough.

"Embarrassing most of the time, but all right I guess. Char-my Dad let's me cook for him, I clean for my own peace, and he keeps food in the place and the bills paid." she laughed, "It's a decent arrangement I guess. Better than it was at my Mom's."

I'd heard from someone passing me the day she'd started that she was a transfer from Arizona, and the wonderful Forks weather caused me to wonder how she liked the change. "Do you like Forks better?"

"NO!" she nearly yelled. Then blushing dropped her voice again. Her blush wasn't as mind numbing this time. "No, I miss the sun, but it isn't very kind to my complexion. I had to move here, so my Mom could enjoy her life with her husband. Having me around made it too hard for her. She was always feeling conflicted if she had to leave to follow him. He plays baseball, minor leagues." she said.

"That was a considerate thing to do." I said, she smiled. I looked forward and saw our driveway. "You can just drop me here Bella. I'll get to the house without any problem."

I didn't want to have to explain Bella to Carlisle and Esme, so I decided running in would be much better. She pulled into the driveway and stopped, looking down it, and then at me, "Are you sure? It looks long."

I laughed at the idea of anything being harmful to me, but stopped myself knowing she wasn't privy to the knowledge I was. "I will be fine Bella. Thanks for the ride." I grabbed my bag, slung it on my back and waved to her through the windshield. She drove away and as I turned to run towards the house, it started to rain again.

I thought the next day would be rainy again, I was wrong. It was clear, and sunny. I read for several hours during the afternoon, to keep myself out of the sun and the exposure of others to my over brilliant skin. When twilight came, I slipped out, and ran. I spent the weekend on a hunt, ranging over the peninsula. When my mind wasn't lost in the hunt, I found myself dwelling over the conversation I'd had with Bella in her truck.

On Sunday when I returned, I sat down at the computer and ordered a car for myself. I knew what I wanted, it took me little time to arrange it, but it wouldn't arrive for another week at least. Then I ran to the school. I had a little information I wanted to find out, which I couldn't obtain during regular hours.

On Monday it was pouring, I left early again. I'd decided to change my classes around. I wanted to try to stay close to Bella, the more I saw her, the easier it was to be near her. Being in a different year, I had to arrange a different set of classes, but I was in general at least in the same building as she'd be. I went into the office first thing and spoke with Mrs. Cope and arranged the change in my schedule. As I opened the door I saw Bella passing on the sidewalk. She looked over at me, and smiled. I smiled back, I must have smiled too widely, because her face suddenly went blank and she started walking a little faster.

I walked away towards my own class.

Just after my third class I ran into her again. I couldn't figure her out, she had distinctly been frightened by my smile, but she still came up and talked to me. "Hi Jasper. What happened to you on Friday?" she asked, walking next to me for a moment.

"Friday?" I responded, "Oh, well, my parents decided to go camping." Always the stories. Bella looked at me strangely, then smiled. "So you're still walking, aren't you?"

"For now." I answered.

"What does that mean? Will your family be returning?" she asked.

"It means that I'm walking for now." I gave her a taunting look and she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Really! Well, I was just going to offer you a ride home again, but if you're going to act that way about it, perhaps you've got better plans." she teased smiling.

I stopped and looked up, rubbing my chin - as if pondering something very serious. I looked back down at her, mid-rub with an assessing look, then broke into a smile, "No. No better plans. But I really can't keep imposing on your generosity Bella."

"I don't mind Jasper, really. I'll happily give you a ride for the rest of the week if you'd like. But I'm always running late in the morning, so I can't offer to pick you up."

"And why are you habitually tardy?" I asked in a teasing tone again. She raised an eyebrow at me and chuckled at my tone. "I just don't sleep well, bad dreams about young abandoned guys walking in the rain to school." she answered, and I smiled.

"So you are restless until it's time to wake, and then all you want to do is sleep?" I asked her. "Something like that." she said.

"So, ride?" she asked as she stopped, preparing to walk off to her own class. I stopped and faced her too, "Yes, thank you."

The rest of the week I rode home with Bella. I also surprised her the first morning by standing there leaning against her truck when she came out in the morning. She smiled brightly when she saw me there.

"Good morning. You walked...here?"

I nodded. "I've decided I'm going to meet you every morning and rush you to school so you're there in time."

She laughed, "Well, if only you could wake me up early enough to do that."

I walked over to the passenger door and opened it. I stepped inside and threw my bag down on the floor of the truck. "I can do that, if you'd like me to. I'm always awake hours before sunrise." I said in a sarcastic tone for her benefit.

"I think you'd give Charlie a heart attack." she said.

I chuckled, "You're probably right."

So the next morning I woke her by carefully throwing rocks at her window.

On Thursday as Bella drove me home, I felt that she was hesitating again. She had a frown on her face and seemed distracted. "Whatever it is Bella, just say it." I said, surprising her.

She looked at me for a moment with wide eyes. I leaned closer to her as if telling her a secret, her scent still made my head swim, but it seemed easier every day I was near her. "You had the same look on your face when you told me about how Edward reacted in Biology. I think it's your 'I have to say something I'm embarrassed about' look." I said in explanation.

"Well, I know I said I could give you a ride home every afternoon, but Jessica and Angela want me to go with them to Port Angeles tomorrow after school to go dress shopping for the dance." she said with worry on her face.

I had a feeling of unease that I couldn't explain to myself. "Are you going to the dance?" I asked.

Bella glanced at me for a moment with calculating eyes, the truck slowing down as she looked. I looked back at her with confusion. I allowed myself to test her emotions, and she was suspicious. After a moment longer, she sighed, "No."

I was mystified, "What was that all about?" she scowled out the window. "I thought you were about to ask me to the dance. Eric Yorkie and Mike Newton have both cornered me and asked me, but I'm not going."

"So you're going to Port Angeles to help them dress shop?" I asked.

"They wanted my opinion, and I wanted to get out of Forks." she said, smiling. We had just reached my driveway.

I grinned at her, "Want to drive in and see the house for once?" I asked. She looked at her watch, and then looked back at me. "Sure, but I can't stay, I have to get home to make Charlie dinner." she answered.

I felt regret coming off her. "It's all right Bella, another day when you have more time. Have a good night, sleep well."

"See you in the morning." she smiled, I shut the truck door, and turned around to walk down the driveway. I broke into a run as soon as her truck was far enough away.

When I got in I checked to see if my car had arrived. It was delayed. Damn customs. I still had another 4 days. I definitely wanted to be there in Port Angeles. There was only one other thing I could do to make sure I was nearby in case she needed me. I went to Carlisle's office to ask if I could borrow his car. I would have to tell him about Bella to explain, and I really didn't want to.


	4. Matter

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this all belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the creative genius, who I owe all my playful hours to.

Chapter IV  
Matter

I said Carlisle's name as I approached the door to his office. He invited me in. I found him sitting at his desk just putting some books and things aside as I walked in. I stood before his desk, "I'd like to borrow your car tomorrow." I said, not wanting to draw out the conversation unnecessarily.

Carlisle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's an unusual request from you Jasper, I was under the impression you preferred not to drive." he said.

"I do, but now that the family have all gone, I find I need transport, and I prefer not to use any of their cars, as they're not here to ask." I felt Carlisle's surprise as I continued."Also, my reason for needing a ride does not leave me inclined to contact any of them about it."

Carlisle raised one eyebrow this time, in curiosity, "Oh? There isn't anything you could ask of the family that any one of them wouldn't give you, I'm sure Jasper."

I looked to the floor for a moment before I continued, "I know that to be the truth, unless, as in this instance it has to do with the safety and well-being of Isabella Swan." Carlisle's eyes rarely conveyed shock, so it was very uncomfortable to be the one causing the expression. He frowned and turned his head a little and fixed me with a serious look, as though willing me to be forthright with him. "Jasper, is this related to whatever happened back in September between Edward and Chief Swan's daughter? I don't think it's wise to interfere with your brother's concerns."

"It began with that situation, but no, it isn't related to that any longer. I believe that this girl has been somehow tainted by our notice of her, and our proximity, bad things happen to her. She's leaving town with friends and I feel...compelled to be there, nearby in the case something happens. If nothing happens, I will be back early in the evening with nothing to tell.

Carlisle seemed satisfied, "Yes of course Jasper. If you will just take me to the hospital before school, you can have the car. You'll need it into the evening?" he asked me, I nodded, and Carlisle continued. "Perhaps it's time we give some consideration to obtaining a car for your use. It's never been necessary really, but things have changed."

I smiled, "I took the liberty of ordering one last Sunday. It's in customs at the moment, I should get it by Monday."

Carlisle nodded, "Good, I'm pleased that's taken care of."

"Thank you Dad." I said. He smiled and I turned and walked back out.

The next morning I dropped Carlisle at the hospital. Despite my manoeuvres to keep Bella near me throughout each day, I missed seeing her. I saw her in the Cafeteria, but it was different than actually riding with her each day to school. I found that her distance was uncomfortable for me. I wanted to be nearer to her, as I'd become accustomed to.

At the end of the day I travelled directly out to Port Angeles, I wanted to be there before Bella arrived with her friends.

I parked just inside the city limits and waited to see what Bella would do. I followed her every turn. I watched her go into the boutique with her two friends, and parked at a safe enough distance to allow me to watch in my rear view mirror. When she left the boutique and went walking, I hung back, making sure I was near enough to know precisely where she was heading. I couldn't shake this strange need to protect her. My family had brought her to fate's attention, and I had to keep her safe.

She walked down an open block, and I drove the other direction to intercept her around at the other end of it. She turned before I'd expected her to, and suddenly I couldn't find her. When I did, she was walking up a street alone, with two men following her. She reached the top of the hill and was surrounded.

I hesitated for only a moment, unsure if I should stop the meeting. I really didn't know what their intentions were, but I decided with fate stalking Bella, I couldn't risk taking a chance. I drove quickly up the street and pulled up next to her. I let the car force the men off the street, and threw her door open. As I was exposed to the open air, I felt the mindset of the men surrounding her, and though they were muddled by my appearance, nothing in their feelings was pleasant. They felt like ugliness, and to my astonishment, Bella was giving off feelings of determined resignation. What could this unusual girl be thinking? I looked Bella directly in the eyes and begged her, "Bella, get in!"

When she stepped into the car I was pulling away before she'd even closed the door. I smashed the accelerator to the floor, getting away from the group of men and the vileness of their thoughts. After that first moment, I realized I was being assaulted by the scent of her blood. It flooded my mind, and nearly undid my resolve. Had I only saved her in order to destroy her myself? I'd never been strong, but no, I wouldn't do that. I quickly drove to the boutique she'd been in with the two girls from school. I turned to Bella, who was looking at me suspiciously. "Please be careful Bella. Stay with your friends." She looked at me, narrowing her eyes for a moment. She sighed deeply, and reached for her things, "Thank you Jasper. It was lucky you found me." She gave me a searching look, but as she did, I noticed her pulse beneath the pale skin on her throat. "I need to go Bella, goodnight."

I could feel suspicion coming off her as she stepped out of the car. She closed the door and sealed me in with the smell of her blood. I pulled away, smiling at the looks of blatant shock on the faces of the two girls , who were staring at me with their mouths gaping. In my rear view mirror I saw the girls running to her to find out the truth. I was less than two blocks away when I rolled down all the windows and cleared her scent out of the car. I inhaled deep lungfuls of air to clear my head.

On Monday I threw rocks at Bella's window to wake her up.

Bella looked out the window, saw me there and frowned a little. A few minutes later she opened the front door. "Come in Jasper, Charlie left early this morning." Her house was enclosed, and the smell of her blood floated around me. I did my best to ignore it.

She seemed distant, and a little grumpy, I tried to get her talking to try and get my mind off the tempting scent, "So you're not going to the dance like your friends?" I asked her as she poured herself a cup of milk.

She shook her head "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." I said.

"No, I'm not." she answered, turning back and coming over to sit next to me. "Do you have other plans?" I asked.

She took a drink, and then swallowing nodded at me, "I'm planning to go shopping in Seattle that day. It just worked out to be the right time for me, and no one seems to be able to believe I really don't want to go to the dance."

"Why would you want to go to the dance?" I asked, more to myself than anything.

Bella surprised me when she replied, "Exactly!"

She suddenly looked at the clock and gasped. "Give me five minutes." she said, scrambling out of her chair and running upstairs. About ten minutes later, Bella came down in a t-shirt and jeans, with a zippered sweater over them and her bag. She walked in and put her cup in the sink, then turned around, grabbed her keys and we walked out the door and went to her truck.

I'd been thinking about Seattle, and it worried me that she'd be in a much larger den, than she'd been exposed to in Port Angeles. It must have shown on my face, because as we climbed into the truck Bella said, "Jasper, what's bothering you?"

"I wish you wouldn't go to Seattle." I said.

I  
She glared at me, "Why?"

Because of what happened to you in Port Angeles, Seattle is much bigger." I answered honestly.

"What were you doing there, anyway Jasper?" Bella asked me.

There was no easy explanation for that. I could give her some story about it being a coincidence, but I just felt that I should tell her the truth.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure Bella, but I seem to have developed an interest in keeping you protected." I responded.

We drove for another fifteen minutes in complete silence. I decided she'd dropped the subject, when as we pulled into the school parking lot, and headed for a parking spot she suddenly said, "So you were there, in Port Angeles...what, watching over me?" Bella chuckled as she asked.

"Yes." I answered softly.

"Why?" She said, curling an eyebrow at me as we climbed out of the truck. I stepped around to the front of the truck and stopped, facing her.

I was beginning to feel a little nervous about her reaction, and defensive towards her questions. "Would you prefer I hadn't?" she turned in my direction and stopped too.

"I didn't say that Jasper, but I am curious to know what's come over you lately." she said, turning to look at me.

She was waiting for honesty...I decided once again, that she deserved it, "I'm as confused by it as you are, all I know is that I've been feeling like I have to watch over you Bella. As though if I'm not there, something will happen and you'll be taken away."

Her eyes widened for a moment, but then her whole face softened, "But why would that matter? Why does it matter to you?"

I replied, "I'd miss you if you were gone, I feel the world is much more interesting with you in it."

Bella stared at me in shock. In that moment, under the intensity of her expression, I noticed how beautiful she was, how luminous her face was. I realized my interest was no longer just in her safety. We stood there staring into each other's eyes, until the bell rang and Bella was suddenly shaken from her concentration, noticing for the first time that she and I were the only ones left in the parking lot. Her face slid from shock to alarm, as she realized how late it was, "I-I think I'd b-better get to class Jasper, I..uh...I guess I'll see you later." she turned and walked quickly towards the building our first classes were in. I stared at the doors she'd disappeared through for a moment, and then followed her through them.

That night, my car was finally delivered. I also got a call from Alice. She was still in Denali trying to smooth things with Irina and Edward. It was turning into a more complicated matter than anyone had imagined initially. Alice was telling me the details of all that was happening, she'd gone on for some time, when I slipped away from the conversation, thinking about what Bella had asked me. Why did it matter to me whether or not she was all right, why was I so bothered to think she could get hurt? Why did I find such pleasure in her presence, that I had changed all my schedules in order to be nearer her? I'd been lost in my own thoughts when Alice suddenly became quiet. "Jasper?" she asked.

"Yes?" I said. I hadn't been paying attention, and I was afraid she'd be angry.

"You're distant. I've been having flashing visions of you talking with Bella Swan. Is there some..." she faded off suddenly.

"Alice? Hello? Are you there?" I asked.

After a moment she responded. "I see. Well Jasper, I'm not sure how long this could take. You do what you feel you need to. I have to go. Bye Jazz." She said in a less than friendly voice, and then hung up on me.

I shook my head and looked at the phone. This was bad.


	5. Discovery

Chapter V

Discovery

Things were definitely going in directions I couldn't control.

I didn't want the family to know that I'd begun talking to Bella Swan. It would make Edward feel betrayed, and Emmett and Rosalie would both be indignant that I would even consider it. Well, Rosalie would, and Emmett would go along with it, because confrontation and conflict were two words he was a happy proponent of. I couldn't even think of Alice. I began to realize that somehow, in being caught up in my increasing fascination with Bella, I'd let Alice slip to the back of my mind. A place of no preference for anyone. She didn't deserve such treatment and I felt unworthy of even talking to her following the disastrous conversation on the phone.

Then there was Bella, who still intended to go to Seattle. I had to think of some way to curb that plan. I was uncomfortable with it before her fiasco in Port Angeles, but now I felt certain that she would only find herself involved in something even worse in a place as large as Seattle. Thankfully I wouldn't have to enlighten Carlisle any further to my actions, no longer needing to borrow his car.

Still, something had to be done to keep things more under control, and only one person was going to be able to effect that sort of change. Me.

I waited for morning, paying little attention to the view out the windows, my mind caught up so tightly on the conversation with Alice and ways by which I could keep Bella from her plans. The darkness outside began to lighten finally for my eyes, and I realized quickly why it had taken so long, it was perfectly clear. No hint of clouds in the sky at all. A truly rare day for Forks, and a complete counter to my plans of picking Bella up before school for once. My frustration was intensified by the realization that I wouldn't see her today, which always made it that much worse to be around her the next day.

I paced the house anxiously all day, when evening came I had reached the point of feeling tortured. I couldn't seem to convince myself to stay away. I drove to her house and watched the shadows of her movement across the walls and ceiling of her room as she went about the common routines of her life. When the light in her room blinked out, I drove back home. I went to my room and lost myself in books. This time I paid close attention to the sky outside. Nothing showed to give me relief, the night remained dark until deep into the early morning hours when the sun reflected off just the atmosphere. Another cloudless, sunny day.

My exasperation was complete. I sat in my room throughout the day, growling and snarling at the misfortune of sunshine filled days. I could feel that Esme and Carlisle were aware that I was despondent over something, and that Carlisle was slightly less perplexed by it. Esme finally came and knocked on my door, "Jasper, tomorrow will be clear again, until the evening, when a new storm is coming in. Why don't you go on a hunting trip." I ordinarily avoided hunting trips on days when we were forced to stay in due to temperate weather, for the same reason I didn't go to school. To avoid being seen.

I decided that I needed to get out and do something to take my mind off the things I couldn't do anything about at the moment. If some unfortunate hiker decided to be brave and go into the places where few dared travel, but my family and me, then it would be his misfortune. I didn't truly feel this way, but being forced to stay away from Bella muddled me in a way I couldn't account for.

I had never felt the absence of anyone so strongly. Alice's presence was overwhelming, she was full of so much effervescent cheeriness, that it left a residual contentment behind it. I felt a pang of separation with Alice, I felt loss and grief over the same situation with Bella, and it began to dawn on me that I had invested far too much of myself into her already.

Had she only been just another girl, I wouldn't be in such a predicament. But she had to have veins within which flowed liquid gold for Edward, who would destroy her to mine her mettle. I felt a strong pull of the blood that pulsed in her, but it was just another scent of blood to me, sweet as any before it. It was something else, beyond definition, that drew me so strongly to Bella Swan.

I ran over the peaks of the Peninsula, it was breathtaking and beautiful here. It cleansed me, refreshed me. I sought out the scents of wildlife, and turned myself off from the confusion that perplexed me. I returned to the house early in the morning hours, grinning wickedly over the thunder and lightning that came across the peaks from over the ocean. Storm and squall, my friends and confidants.

The next morning, Friday, I was ready. I showed up at Bella's house as I had for the last several weeks, tossing rocks at her window to wake her. I usually had to toss many to get her attention, this morning she opened her window after the first rock. She was grinning and something in me I hadn't realized was wound tight, relaxed. "Jasper!" she called down happily. "You have some explaining to do. Where have you been?" she frowned, but the way her eyes danced and the corners of her mouth curled up, it was obvious that it was a pretense. I beamed back at her and motioned for her to come down. She came out 15 minutes later, her bag slung over her shoulder and her face alight with curiosity.

"So?" she said, leaving the question hanging.

I chuckled, "My family always takes advantage of the good weather and goes camping."

She grinned infectiously at me, "It's been beautiful, hasn't it? Completely un-Forks-ish." As she reached me, the wind softly blew through her hair and blanketed me in her scent. I scowled as it hit me, unable to hide it due to the force of the bloodlust that it triggered. Bella halted for a moment surprised by the sudden change in my features , but then regained her composure and thankfully misread my reaction.

"Are you trying to say you don't like beautiful weather?" she asked.

"I sort of love rain. My whole family does, it's why we chose Forks." I taunted. She smiled, "I've missed your company while you've been gone. I've grown used to our morning car rides in my truck."

Something clicked into place in me. I filed the realization for later, to investigate what it was, then frowned mockingly, looked down at the ground and sighed. "I'm afraid things with that are going to have to change Bella." I said, backing away from her unconsciously. I wasn't breathing anymore to try to keep my response to her scent under control, but she kept moving closer towards me.

When I spoke, she suddenly stopped, her face falling into a perfect picture of disappointment. "Why?" she asked innocently.

"Because I'm afraid that from now on we'll have to ride in my car." I said maintaining my serious expression still, then looking into her eyes a smile raised the corners of my mouth, and her smile mirrored my own.

"You got a car Jasper?" she tried to look past me into the driveway, and frowned seeing that only her truck was there. "Where is it?" she asked.

I raised my arm, and indicated with my hand behind her. "Parked at the curb." I said. She turned around and gasped. "Jasper! It's really nice. What is it?" she asked me.

"It's an Audi A8 with a W12 engine." I answered, my pride thickening my voice. I looked at her, and she looked...confused.

"So,...it's an Audi. Ok. It's beauti-" we'd walked over to it and suddenly in mid sentence she gasped again. "It's blue...midnight blue. I thought it was black."

I chuckled, "Yes, I had to special order that color from Europe. They don't sell that color in the states." I said.

Bella rolled her eyes at me and said, "I'm not that impressed, honestly." she said teasingly.

I laughed, and was again assaulted by her scent. Not being near her for so many consecutive days was having a really tremendous effect on me. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to cover my response to her scent.

"Well, if you're not, then perhaps you prefer to drive in your truck as usual." I said.

She grinned at me conspiratorially and said "I think just for today, I can handle taking a ride from you."

I smiled, and shook my head no. "Mm-mmm, sorry, you're going to have to ride with me until I've paid you back for all the days you drove me, at least, if not including some interest."

She laughed and I relaxed a little more. "You have to promise." I warned her.

"Just the days until you've paid me back, right?" she hedged.

I shook my head no, "Don't forget the interest." I said as she sighed. "That should happily take us until the end of the year." I said.

She laughed again. "If I didn't know better, I'd suspect that you don't like my truck."

"Your truck is lovely." I began. "If you're on a cow farm...in backwoods Arkansas...pulling a trailer..." I grinned mischeviously, "filled with pigs and chicken's...during the great depression." I finished.

Bella's jaw dropped and she glared at me indignantly. "My truck has character." she said defensively.

"It does." I agreed, then dropped all pretense, "though it's character is very blue collar. My car has character, and will have infinitely more once you're gracing it's passenger seat." I said, pulling open the passenger

door between us, and looking down at it insinuatingly, giving the impression it was protecting me from her.

She glared at me, and I grinned as I noticed she was feeling the leather in the interior. "Don't be so smug, Jasper."

"Whose smug?" I said grinning while I closed her door and moved around to mine.

We drove to school, parked, and walked into class. Bella spared one last look at the car, then turned back to me and glared again. I chuckled and she said, "I'll see you later, Mr. Smug."

laughed as she walked away and several kids walking by me jumped, startled.

As was usual she sat with her friends during lunch. Without my brothers and sisters there, I had been spending lunches outside the next class I had. I sat on the ground with my bag slung over my knees reading over one of my books when Bella walked up. "So this is where you hide during lunch?" she said.

"Usually." I said, dropping my book into my lap. She sat down next to me on the concrete. She wasn't touching me, but she was so close, I could feel her heat. And of course her scent was a continual reminder of her difference from me. I stopped breathing as much as possible, while continuing the conversation.

"Is it lonely since your family left?" she asked. I grinned at her concern.

"It's just different." I replied.

Then she asked a harder question, "What about Alice? You two...you two have always been together from what I've been told."

I tried to laugh it off chuckling, "You've been gossiping about me Bella?"

Bella frowned, "No, I heard that before I'd even met you."

I looked forward and frowned as well. "Alice and I are...having some problems right now." I said.

She looked at me with genuine concern. "That's too bad." she said and I nodded.

I looked at my watch and realized there were still many minutes left until the end of lunch hour. "Bella, what are you doing out here so early?" I asked.

Bella scowled, "Mike Newton was getting on my last nerve about the dance." she answered tersely. I laughed, then sobered as I remembered her plans for that day.

Bella looked me in the eyes then, and confusion settled briefly across her face. I distracted her, "Are you still going to Seattle? I asked.

She nodded and said, "My Dad has been threatening to come with me, but I think I have that covered. He's going to LaPush to spend the day with his friend Billy."

She looked at me strangely then. Her eyes seemed to search my face, and suddenly they widened slightly in surprise. I'm sure a human wouldn't have noticed the difference, but I did. She covered the expression quickly and went on, "So, I will have the whole day to spend as frivolously as I want to, roaming the wild streets in Seattle." she joked.

I frowned, and she noticed it. "What's wrong?" she asked me.

"I don't think you should go to Seattle. You proved in Port Angeles that dangerous things happen around you, and I don't know why you want to tempt fate. Especially when fate would follow you clear to Seattle."

She almost seemed to growl, and I struggled to keep from laughing, "Why is everyone so opposed to me taking a trip to Seattle?"

"Because everyone would like to see you safe." I snapped at her.

"I took care of myself perfectly well for sixteen years alone, Renee wasn't in charge of my well being, I was! I have traveled all over Phoenix, I have been to Los Angeles on trips with her. I've always managed to stay safe, I can cook, clean, wash dishes, dress, change, drive and argue!" She was getting louder with every word she said, suddenly she grabbed her bag and stood. "I can fend for myself, I can protect myself. If I choose to take a drive to Seattle, then I will! Why is that so difficult to understand." she snapped. She was blushing, and between that and the expression of indignation on her face I was struggling with twin temptations.

I chuckled, which didn't go over well with her. She glared at me, and I quickly stood up also, and explained myself. "I'm sorry, you're just very cute when you're angry. It's surprising.

I begged her to forget her trip to Seattle. "Bella, please. I would prefer you avoid a city that large."

She frowned and gritted her teeth. Then she said "I'll be fine." then her eyes lit up with a curious expression which quickly changed into a mischevious one, "But I'll consider staying in Forks if you'll answer one

question for me."

Caught off guard by the sudden change, I looked at her in surprise. In a guarded tone I said, "What question is that?"

She drew herself up until she was standing as straight and tall as she could and said, "Why do your eyes change colors?"


	6. Truth

Chapter VI

Truth

_"I'll consider staying in Forks if you'll answer one question for me." _

_Caught off guard by the sudden change, I looked at her in surprise. In a guarded tone I said, "What question is that?" _

_She drew herself up until she was standing as straight and tall as she could and said, "Why do your eyes change colors?"_

I was stunned, no human had ever realized this about us. I tried to cover it with a careless laugh, "Contacts of course. Was that a mystery?"

I could feel Bella's skepticism coming off her as she leaned in closely to look at my eyes. Her scent was all around me, even with the miniscule amount of breathing I was doing in order to continue conversation, I was drowned by it. I leaned back unintentionally, taking a step as I did so, and Bella leaned back again, narrowing her eyes at me.

The bell for the end of lunch rang just then, "I-I have to get to class Bella..." I said awkwardly. I turned and fled her dizzying scent, and her too intuitive eyes. I could feel curiosity as the last emotion she gave off as I hurried into my class. I knew the car ride home that afternoon was going to be one full of questions and I wasn't pleased about what those questions might be.

I spent each of the 50 minutes of my remaining classes trying to divine a way to explain my eyes to her satisfaction. Wondering if her questions would lead to further suspicions. I doubted she'd ever come to the truth on her own, but I still didn't like the old familiar worry that I was about to be discovered.

When the end of the day came, I walked out and stood waiting for Bella. I felt tense from my concern about the questions I knew Bella was going to ask, and I wanted to postpone them as long as possible. I was fairly cool towards her as I greeted her, we walked to my car in silence. I could see that she kept stealing glances at me.

As we drew near the car, she said, "It really is a nice car Jasper, I'm glad you got something for yourself." she said, trying to get me to start talking.

"Me too." I answered curtly, still wanting to avoid talking more than necessary.

I opened her car door for her, she climbed in, looking at me uncertainly through the window as I closed it. I walked around to my side and started the car as I got in. I felt a small smile sneak onto my face at the sound and feel of it, and hastily straightened my expression. We pulled out and headed down the road, driving for several minutes before she started in.

"You're lying." she said simply.

I gave her a warning look, "About..." I said.

You're not wearing contacts, because you have nothing in your eyes." she looked at my turned face, trying to divine my thoughts. I continued to watch the road, frustrating her efforts and she continued, "There's also the minor fact of the purple shadows beneath your eyes. When your eyes are golden colored as they are now, the shadows fade to almost nothing, but when they're black, like they were last Friday, you look like a drug addict who's missed a week of sleep. When Edward looked at me in biology, his eyes looked just like yours did then"

We'd arrived at her house, I pulled up to the curb and parked. I turned off the engine and looked at her, my jaw clenched and my expression as blank as I could keep it under the line of her questions. "So are you accusing me of being a druggie then?" I asked peevishly.

"No, I don't know what you are Jasper, all I know is that you're lying, and I don't know why." she sounded hurt. "Also..." she began, but stopped, looking forward.

"Go on." I encouraged, wondering what else she might have noticed.

"You and your family don't look alike. Well, you and your sister have the same blonde hair, but the only thing similar between all of you, is your skin. And of course your eyes, the color of them at least." she said.

"Your working very hard to try and be suspicious of me. Are you aware of how strange it is to pay attention to such small details, and stranger still to speak about them?" I said, trying to embarrass her enough to stop her questions. It was a futile hope.

"Well, I don't know what I'm trying to say. When I went to the reservation with my Dad to have the truck looked at, I hung out with Billy's son Jacob while he worked on the truck. We got to talking about the friends I'd made since I arrived in town and your name came up. I mentioned that you had said your family didn't go to La Push, and Jacob told me there was an old Quileute legend that explained why. I asked him to tell me about it, The story talks about a family known as "the cold ones." and he said they were what we would call vampires, and there's a whole list of bizarre ideas that go with the legend. Jacob said something about a Treaty, even, but the strangest thing was the head of the family's name was Carlisle, and isn't that the Doctor's name? Your father, isn't he Carlisle?"

I turned and looked out the window, This wasn't a conversation I was willing to have. The only belief I still retained from my days as a young vampire was that we had to remain unknown. I chuckled and muttered, "ridiculous." but Bella wasn't falling for it. I heard her lean over and turned my head right into her outstretched hand. As her fingers touched my cheek, she gasped and sat back looking at me with her eyes opened wide, holding her fingers with her other hanHd as though she'd been burned. I scowled.

"I really should get home Bella, I'll see you on Monday. Be careful in Seattle." I growled at her. I could feel the hurt coming off of her. I frowned deeply and tried to repair the damage by saying goodbye in a kinder tone, but she just clenched her jaw and grabbed her bag. She opened the door and stepped out, throwing it shut behind her and stomped away towards the house.

I started the engine and pulled away, heading home, I snarled in frustration. Damn the Quileute brat and their legends.

I pulled up to the house and walked in, still in a foul temper until I saw the suitcases next to the door. I looked up as I heard my Father's voice from his study, heading out to meet me, "We're traveling up to Denali son. Apparently the situation between Irina and Tanya has escalated, and Emmett, Rosalie and Alice have decided to stay there. We are going to register them for school and then return. We waited until you came home to see if you'd like to join us, but you are of course welcome to remain here. We'll be back in a few days."

I looked away from him, thinking of Alice. So she'd decided to stay, she must have seen something about the way I felt. I preferred not to face her yet, so I shook my head, "No, I'll stay Dad, but thank you for waiting. Is Mom going as well?" I looked at the two suitcases. "Yes, she wants to see them." he said.

I nodded and then Esme came downstairs, carrying a small bag that clinked slightly. "It's a short trip Jasper, will you be all right while we're gone?" she asked me. I nodded again and said, "Give everyone my love, and tell Alice..." I couldn't think what to say. "Tell her I'm sorry to hear she's staying."

Carlisle and Esme picked up their bags, Carlisle reached out and squeezed my shoulder as he walked past me, and Esme gave me a tender kiss on the cheek. "Bye love." she said. I smiled at her, and watched them walk out. I turned around to the empty house and sighed. I stood there as I saw the lights glitter and jump across the walls as they drove out.

I walked up to my room and sat down to a long night of reading. I was in a dark mood, and decided to read Phantom of the Opera. I was reading about the Phantom bringing Christine to his hideaway and telling her his secrets, when I was struck by an idea. I was down the stairs and out the door in moments, it was dark now. I got in my car and drove to Bella's house. When I reached her house, I climbed up on the roof and squatting before it, tapped on Bella's darkened window.

She opened her window and looked down towards the street, expecting to see me throwing rocks as usual I imagined. I cleared my throat softly, and she screamed as she whipped her head to the left and jumped back at the same time. She tripped over something on her floor and I heard a mild curse from her as she tried to stand again. She came to the window and whispered loudly at me, "Jasper! It's after midnight, what are you-"

"Bella," I said softly, cutting of her questions, she listened as I went on. "You have questions, and I'll answer them, but only if you'll come with me now, and promise me one thing."

She looked at me for a moment, skeptically, then she said "Promise what?"

"Promise you won't go to Seattle alone tomorrow. Stay with me instead." I answered. She smiled, "Ok, give me five minutes, I'll come down."

As usual for Bella, ten minutes later she came out. "Where are we going?" She asked immediately.

"To my house." I replied. Her eyes widened a little, "Jasper, what about your parents."

I laughed at her innocence a little, and then frowned, remembering where they'd gone to, and what it meant. "They've gone to join my brother's, sister and Alice up in Denali so they can register them for school." I said. "I have the house to myself, but even if they were home they wouldn't mind you visiting."

We got into the car, and drove to my house. Bella was boldly staring at me, and I could feel curiosity coming off her in waves.

As I turned onto my driveway, I looked at her and said, "Do you want to start now?" I asked.

"Yes and no, but first, I'm confused. This afternoon you wanted nothing more than to get away from me and my questions, and now you've come and stolen me away to your home, claiming you're suddenly going to answer me?"

I turned to her again as I pulled into the garage and parked in Carlisle's space. "Knowing is better than suspecting. You have some half formed ideas of what you perceive as the truth, and they frighten me more than anything, because half the evils in the world are perpetrated based on half-formed ideas built on what people _think_ they know."

I got out and walked around to her side of the car and held the door open for her. She stepped out and waited while I closed the door and led her to the front door, opening it for her as well. She stepped inside and saw the wide open room before her, she looked over every detail, her eyes following the winding staircase up, covering over each wall, and finally moving to the wall of glass at the back of the house. We walked to it together, looking out across the lawn to the river.

"This is...your house is beautiful Jasper." she said with awe.

I chuckled, "Well, technically it's Carlisle and Esme's, but on their behalf, thank you." I replied.

She was entranced by the view, and was silent for a long time. Finally, she turned to me and began to test my claim of honesty, "Are you the family of cold ones Jacob Black told me about?" she asked seriously.

I sighed, turning away from the beauty of the view out the windows, and faced Bella, and the truth. "Yes. Well, I'm not, I didn't join the family until after that time, but yes. Carlisle is the Carlisle they refer to in their legends. He was close to Efraim Black, who was your friend's Grandfather. The family lived here in Forks at the turn of the last century."

She nodded, too shocked to answer yet. We both looked out the windows again, and she finally continued, "And your eyes?"

For that I was going to need to explain a little more, "We are vampires, it's true. As a family, the Cullen's have chosen to deny their natural eating habits, which is of course, humans. We're an exception in the vampire world, only one other family has chosen to live this way to the best of my knowledge, and they are the cousins my family are currently visiting with." I smiled, and went on, "Our eyes reflect the decisions we've made. Vampires who follow the usual hunting habits of our kind have red eyes, ours are golden when we've recently hunted, and black when we're hungry, with dark shadows beneath them."

Still looking out the window we continued on, Bella asked, "So Edward's reaction in biology..." she trailed off.

"It's a rare thing, occasionally there will be a human whose scent is more alluring to our sense's than any other. I've never experienced it, but Emmett has, and he says it's like nothing else matters. Our kind can almost never deny it. Edward only barely avoided slaughtering you and the whole Biology class as well that day." I said, and Bella went completely white, dropping to the ground in a lump of limbs and clothing.

I kneeled by her, concerned, and washed her with calm to soothe her distress. She looked at me with her eyes wide and frightened. I felt a pain in my chest seeing that look on her face. I ran my hand over her hair, smoothing it. She looked into my eyes and said, "So that's what I am to Edward?"

I nodded to her, "Yes, food for a starving man."

She kept staring into my eyes, "The whole class? He nearly killed everyone in that class, just because of the way I smelled to him?" she asked awed again.

It was heartbreaking watching her struggle with it, "It isn't your fault Bella, neither of you could help what you are at all." I tried to soothe her, sending another wave of calm to her, and she relaxed fractionally.

She bit her lip slightly, and dropped her eyes from mine and said "What am I to you then, if you're a vampire, Jasper?" she asked, her voice a squeaky whisper, fear emanating from her.

I curled a cold finger around her chin and lifted her eyes up to meet mine. "A barely resistable temptation I care for deeply."

I laid my hand on her cheek, and she touched my hand with her own, "You're so cold." I started to pull my hand away, "Is it uncomfortable for you?" I asked, concerned.

She leaned her head forward and simultaneously pushed her hand tighter against my hand, holding me there. "No." she closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against my hand, then looked up at me through her lashes. "It doesn't bother me."

I lifted her head with my hand and leaned forward towards her face. She lifted hers towards me, and I stopped an inch from her lips, inhaling the scent of her. I breathed into her face, "I'd like to kiss you now Bella, may I?"

She answered by kissing me. Her warm and tenderly delicate lips pressed into mine. I wrapped my arms around her and drew her close to me, kissing her top and bottom lip with cautious attention. I flicked my tongue against her top lip once and then wrapped my lips around hers and crushed a kiss into her for just a moment before lifting my head back and looking at her.

Her cheeks were flushed with dark color, and I could smell clouds of her scent around me, but I didn't seem to mind as much. She laid her head slowly against my chest, and said, "Is it hard for _you _to be near me too?"

I chuckled, "Yes. Some times more than others, but yes, always." I answered her honestly.

She looked up at me, "Have you ever almost lost control?" she asked.

"Yes." I answered. She pulled back to look straight into my eyes, she was still held tight in my arms. I didn't want to let her go. "When?" she asked me.

"In your truck, the first time you gave me a ride home, for one." I laughed remembering the trip, "and also in the Nurse's office when Alice and I took you in after Tyler crshed his van, which would have been foolish, as we had just saved you."

"Really?" she asked, I nodded and told her about Alice's ability, and then about her vision. Bella's mouth dropped open.

"Is that all?" she said sarcastically. "No, there's also the time in the car after I saved you in Port Angeles. Also, most of the time I'm near you."

"What's stopping you now?" she asked.

"I have other feelings that make me prefer you continue living and breathing." I said, pulling her closer against me and enjoying her warmth, the feeling of her heartbeat against my chest. I sat, and arranged her in my lap, so I could drop my head to listen to her heart beat. She ran her fingers across my neck, and I sat there with her in my arms, for a long time. I lifted my head finally, and nuzzled her throat. The scent of it caused venom to coat the inside of my mouth and wash down my throat, but the feel of it against my cold skin was wonderful. I kissed her neck and heard her heart speed up. I placed a hand on the other side of her neck and kissed her throat a little rougher then lifted my eyes back to her face. She looked at me, and I pulled her forward and kissed her again. Her heart sped so fast it skipped a beat, and I pulled back chuckling. Her breathing came in wrenching gasps, and I stood up, setting her carefully on her feet.

"Maybe I ought to show you the rest of the house." I said.

She looked at me and took a deep breath, then replied a little breathlessly, "Yes, that would probably be a good idea."


	7. Beautiful Lie

Chapter VII

Beautiful Lie

I showed Bella the rest of the house, she had many questions about my family, I told her their histories, and laughed at the ease with which she accepted the information that should have been terrifying for her. After looking through all the rooms upstairs, we made our way back to the back window wall again, and Bella finally came to questions about me.

I kept her close to me, as we looked out the window I drew her back against me, putting my arms around her body. I kept my head tilted slightly down so I could smell her scent, It felt peaceful to have her their with me, and the happy contentment that stole through me seemed to affect her as well, without my assistance. I consciously kept myself from using my abilities, because I wanted Bella to feel her own true emotions being around me. They fascinated and frightened me. I could feel the conflict of them as I told her the stories, and though she worked hard to keep any fear from showing, I did feel it slip at certain moments.

"What about you, Jasper? Everyone is decades old, Edward is over 100 and Carlisle is ancient, when were you born, where?" she asked me.

I chuckled, "Hmm, I was born Jasper Whitlock in 1845." she gasped, "In Texas." She turned her head and looked up at me. I kissed her forehead and continued, "I have very vague memories of my human life, snatches really, swimming, getting into trouble, my Mother's face. I don't recall anything clearly except for the time just before I was changed in 1861. I was in Galveston, because I'd joined the army. I effectively lied about my age, and found myself being a man before I'd perfected being a boy. I was good with people in general, I even had a knack for swaying their opinions on things. In the middle of the battle of Galveston, as mortar ships were approaching I convinced their officers to hold off long enough to get the women and children out before they attacked. We were given four days, and I ran back to my company and notified them about the change. I was placed in charge of escorting them out of the city. I took the first group and was heading back to organize another group when I came across three women who were walking alone. They were beautiful, entrancing. Everything about them was unusual. It was dark, and there was a war, I didn't give much consideration to what they were doing there, I only saw that there were two women and a young girl alone. Believing they were in danger, I stopped to help them. They talked and I listened, I only answered their questions because I was entranced with their beauty and I wasn't aware of a lot of things apart from what the tall one, Maria, told me. The other two, Lucy - the young one, and Nettie I later discovered; ran off. Maria asked me my name, I was so muddled by it all I gave her my rank and title, I thought she might be a ghost, though I'd never believed in such a thing ever before in my life."

I took a deep breath, I decided to go on, if Bella was going to be with me, she should know the truth of what that time meant. I inhaled deeply, smelling her scent and closing my eyes with the intoxicaton, then opening them went on again, "Maria took a step forward and leaned her head down, I thought to kiss me, I realized later - she was showing me what she was. She bit into my neck and my eyes sprang open in surprise. At the time I remember thinking it hurt, she reached down and with an ease that shocked me, picked me up and began running. Her speed was phenomenal, in moments we were in an underground basement. There were no windows, only two doors, an outer door and an inner door. She laid me on a large dinner sized table and I was sitting up looking at her, when the burning began. She'd started my change." I said looking Bella in the eyes.

Her eyes were wide, "Jasper? What...what was it like, being changed?" she asked.

"It was physical damnation unleashed on every cell in my body." I said frowning. "It's the strongest memory I have in my mind. The most eternally lasting. Linked to the strongest feelings I've had until recently."

She searched my eyes for more, but I looked away, ashamed for a moment, of what I wasn't sure, the memories I supposed. "Tell me Jasper, please, tell me about it." she begged.

I looked at her for a moment, concerned about whether she should hear it or not. She was accident prone, but she was fearless, and I wanted one day to be able to tell her I wouldn't trade my change, because without it, I wouldn't have met her. She'd need to understand the cost of that statement.

"When the burning started, I began to shake, and I looked at Maria, baffled by the feeling. It began as an unnatural warmth, and built up. It became hotter and grew exponentially...I threw myself back against the table, I was aware of very intensely cold hands on my left leg, I felt her bite me again, it caused no more sensation than a kiss, she did the same to the other ankle, my wrists and the other side of my throat. I only passingly recognized this, because I was consumed by a burning from the inside out. I lay on the table calling for help, calling for God...calling to die. I screamed in a way that would devastate the pride of any man for he himself to be aware of it. My pride, my self, my being and my soul were lost in fire. There was no rest, no reprieve from the pain, the crushing, excruciating feeling of every minute part of me being consumed. I know Maria and others remained nearby, but I don't know what they did, who they may have been, nor why they were there. I only knew I burned and it never ceased. My screaming didn't either, I can't describe what it's like to continue to scream at the top of your lungs past the point that your voice is absolutely gone. It's impotent, useless, yet I couldn't have stopped ripping each one out, slicing the knife point through over and over again. It went on for three days. my body should have needed rest, I would never rest again."

I had been reliving the experience in my mind, and as I refocused on the view outside the window I realized Bella was looking at me still. Her expression was filled with compassion and empathy. I kissed her forehead,

Her brows unfurrowed for a moment, then crinkled again, "You said you would never rest again...are you saying you don't sleep?" she asked.

"Never. I told you I was always awake long before the sunrise each morning." I grinned. She smiled, and then her face settled into a concerned expression, "What happened when it was over?"

"After the change?" I asked. She nodded.

"When the burning finally began to subside, it was actually sort of sudden. It burned white hot, I felt something in me give out, I realized later it was my heart, and my eyes opened on a new world. Although the difference being a vampire makes in the way you perceive and sense the world around you is shocking, other needs take over, the first thing I was, was hungry, or thirsty to be specific." I looked at Bella, there was no wariness or rejection in her eyes, only endless wonder and curiosity. I smiled at her, then realized she was expecting to hear more by the expression on her face, I let my smile fall, and went on."

"Maria was there, she stepped forward and asked me what I felt. I didn't for a moment believe I'd be able to speak, following all my screaming, but when I spoke my voice was clear and distinctive, beautiful even "Thirsty." I answered. My eyes must have widened in surprise, because Maria laughed. She stepped away from me, and opened the door out of the room. "Shall we hunt?" she said. She opened the door, and turned to me, smiling. I stood and followed her, we went out. We ran down the main street, and I felt as though I didn't so much run as fly. I staggered when I came across my first scent. It was like nothing I had ever smelled before, and I found my way to it before I'd even realized I'd changed direction. I came to a door of a small place, a small home. I entered, and the scent was all around me, it came most strongly from the room to my right. I went in, and there were two sisters sleeping in bed, I couldn't have stopped myself if I'd wanted to, all five members of that family perished because of me, in the few short minutes of me entering their home. The sisters first, the parents..." I looked out away from Bella, and took a step away from her. I clasped my fingers together and held my crossed thumbs against the bridge of my nose in my shame, "and the baby." I finally said.

I heard Bella gasp, and didn't dare turn around. I wasn't sure I could face her after my confession. After a moment or two, I ran my hands down my face in a seldom used gesture of stress. I looked at Bella's reflection in the window. She was standing still and staring at me, her eyes wide..I was grateful her reflection blurred her expression of horror, but I could still see it was there. "Maria helped me burn the house, I couldn't walk away and leave the grisly proof of my weakness behind for someone to find. Maria allowed me my fill that night, but she hadn't changed me for pleasure. She created me to be her assistant in retrieving her territory from a group of vampires who had forced her out. We accomplished her first goal, leaving Maria to the natural leanings of her greed. Soon I was helping her create superior armies to those in the surrounding area, because she wanted a better breed of killer winning her battles for her. I was eventually put in charge of the newborns and their training. Her support of my ability suited my natural pleasure in achieving promotion, and as I became better, she began to rely on me. I lived by and for her word and lived as she bid, because it was all I knew."

"Under my organization and supervision, we extended Maria's territory further than she'd initially dreamed possible, even moving into northern Mexico. I fought hundreds, if not thousands of vampires over the years. I didn't come away unscathed by either the battles, nor Maria's insistence that the newborns be destroyed after they were no longer suited to her purpose. Eventually, one of my recruits opposed this decision. He'd found a female vampire whom he'd fallen in love with, and who was destined to be destroyed in Maria's next clear out. When Maria gave the order, my recruit, who was my second in command, challenged it. He refused to allow her to be destroyed. She, her name was Charlotte, and Peter ran. I should have gone after them, but by that point I had already done enough things I found distasteful, to know that destroying Peter would be beyond what I was willing to do. Maria was unhappy, and couldn't understand how that event was a catalyst for a period of spiraling depression for me. I was unhappy with what I was being used for, what I had become. Peter and Charlotte returned several years later and convinced me to leave with them into the North where our kind lived without the territorial battles and the constant slaughter."

"I did leave with them, but even existing for myself alone, I still felt continual anguish and depression. I couldn't face all the carnage I'd been responsible for any longer. Even the minimal killing I did out of necessity made it difficult for me. I'm not sure if you've recognized it or not, but I'm able to affect the emotions of those around me, and by contrast, I'm also able to feel the feelings of those around me. Because of this ability, I could feel everything from my victims, that I'd felt myself in those last moments before Maria changed me. It became my torture, so much so that I eventually left Peter and Charlotte as well, because without my ability, they couldn't understand my personal pain." I felt Bella step forward next to me again, she wrapped her hands around my arm, and without looking away from the window, I laid my hand over hers and continued on.

"I tried to refrain from living as I had for the past century. When I succeeded I'd feel moderately better, eventually my weakness would get the better of me, and I'd spiral down again. I wandered many places whose names and memories of I'm not sure I can, nor wish, to remember until I stumbled on Alice. She was this overwhelming, little brazen thing. We found each other in a diner, in Philadelphia. She walked over to me and said, "You've kept me waiting a long time." I dipped my head and said, "I'm sorry ma'am." Then she held her hand out to me, and I took it...I was not in a frame of mind to deny a hand out. Alice told me about the Cullen family and possibilities I hadn't considered...she gave me hope. I left with her, we found the Cullen's and it was decided that since Rosalie and I bore a passing resemblance to each other, both being tall, blonde and similar in appearance, that I should become a Hale too. Alice took the Cullen name, and we've been with the family ever since."

I turned to Bella, gently pulling her hand off my arm and holding it in both of mine, "Alice saved me, because I hadn't had hope for so long that despair had all but ruined me. She gave me back to life. That's been enough for me." I raised a hand to Bella's cheek, "I would never have realized that I still had one step more to make if it hadn't been for you. I've been obsessed with overcoming my urge to deny my nature, that I'd missed something. I was missing my humanity Bella, and it took you, specifically love for you, to return that to me. Now instead of denying my nature, I've embraced my humanity, and it's easier to accept the monster I am when I know I can live with him, instead of against him."

Her face softened, and she smiled sweetly. I drew her into my arms and held her close. I tilted her face to me again, and kissed her as tenderly as I could, just touching our lips together with the gentlest of pressure. I lifted my head and she leaned her head against my chest. I held her head against my chest with my hand, enjoying the feeling of her warmth against the place she owned, the place where my heart would beat, if it still did. "Thank you." I whispered. She tightened her arms around me, and said, "You said you didn't come away unscathed by your battles. What did you mean?

I pulled up my sleeve and showed Bella one of my arms, she looked and said, "Jasper, what are all these crescent shaped lines? They look like..." she gasped. "Jasper, are these bite marks?" she asked me.

I smiled and wrapped my arm back around her. "I've been bitten by hundreds of vampires Bella, venom is the only thing which can leave scars on our kind. The only thing that never completely heals. These are my scars of battle."

She pulled my arm away from her back and pushed my sleeve back up. She kissed each scar softly, and then looked at me, squeezing me tight. "You're better than that now. You're better than I ever imagined you to be." We stood there holding each other, until Bella yawned hugely.

I chuckled, "You need to go to bed. Let's take you home." She yawned again, and nodded. "I think you'd better, or I'm going to have to answer some very difficult questions from my Dad tomorrow."

We went out to the garage, and I took her home.


	8. Interruption

Chapter VIII

Interruption

The next morning I showed up at Bella's house. Unusually her Dad was still at home. She was waiting out front for me. Her backpack on her back, and a frustrated expression on her face. I walked around to her side, I walked up to her and put my hand on her cheek, her face frowning and brows furrowed. "You seem perturbed, is everything all right Bella?" I asked. She closed her eyes and leaned against my hand for a moment, her face relaxing momentarily, then as we heard the front door open, she lifted her head back up, and was glaring at the door. I turned to look back over my shoulder, Chief Swan was standing on the doorstep, with the door still held in his hand, looking at us. It was not an expression of welcome or pleasure. I looked back at Bella for explanation, she frowned and said;

"Someone passed the information on to my Dad that I've been riding with one of the Cullen's every day. I had another nightmare last night, and this time I woke him up. He's been awake since four this morning, and he,...he's tired and grumpy, and generally angry I think." As Bella said these things, Chief Swan approached us. I turned towards him and said, "Good morning Chief Swan."

He was tense, I could feel suspicion and annoyance coming off him. He was feeling defensive. I laughed a little at his protective feelings, but still respected the fact that he was her father. I said, "I'm giving Bella a ride to school this morning Chief Swan, as repayment. She's been giving me rides home since my brothers and sisters decided to spend the school year with our cousins in Alaska leaving me without transportation. I owe her quite a few more rides I'm afraid, but naturally, I won't impose if you feel this isn't acceptable sir." He was visibly surprised by my willing explanation.

He looked me over, and I stopped breathing, not being accustomed to Charlie's scent. It wasn't as difficult, because Charlie was Bella's father, and something about that made it nearly impossible for me to consider him as a candidate for sustenance.

He looked at Bella for a moment, then eyed my car. He looked back at me again. "I'm sure that's fine, but Bella, I wish you'd mentioned it to me before I had to hear it through gossip channels.

Bella fidgeted, "Sorry Dad. Honestly it just slipped my mind. Do..you...I mean, have you met Jasper, Dad?"

Charlie shook his head no, and I held my hand out, "Jasper Hale sir, it's a pleasure to meet you." His eyes widened a little as he took my cold hand, but he smiled back in a habit of politeness. After a moment his smile dropped along with his hand, "Mmm, yes, well...just drive carefully please you two. I have enough to worry about without thinking of Bella flying around town and ending up in an accident. Your family has a bit of a reputation for being just a little speedy." He said to me, looking at me pointedly. I felt myself grin sheepishly.

"True. I'm not as lead-footed as Edward or Rosalie though sir, I assure you." I grinned, showing very little teeth.

Chief Swan half nodded, and said, "Good to know son,..uh..Jasper. And please, no sirs, makes me feel like I'm old enough to be Bella's grandfather instead of her Dad." He looked at Bella, "I will be home late Bells, please don't worry about dinner tonight. Just take care of yourself. Nice to meet you Jasper. Bella." he nodded his head down at her and turned and walked back into the house. I leaned forward and kissed Bella softly on the lips behind his turned back. She was a little breathless and unsteady when he looked back one last time before closing the front door.

Bella waved, and dropped down into the car seat. I closed the door and made my way around quickly to my side.

The only difference initially in our morning was that I walked Bella to her class. Ordinarily we parted ways and went to our respective classes. This morning however, I walked her to her English class. We walked normally, no hand holding or outward displays of affection to show that any change had happened in our relationship towards one another, until we got to the door. Bella stopped and turned to me, "I guess I'll see you at lunch." she looked uncertain, and I smiled.

"Outside, or in?" I asked.

Bella grinned and said, "Out. Today at least." and I nodded. Mike Newton walked by and said good morning to Bella just then, "Good morning Mike." she replied.

She looked back at me, and I lifted a hand, pushed her hair off her shoulder and reaching around her neck, pulled her forward with my fingertips and kissed her deeply, and chastely. I lifted my head back, and as I looked up toward the clock, I was gifted with a very dark look by Mike Newton. Bella turned and walked in, and I walked off to my first class of the day.

The week seemed to fall into a regular schedule. To, from and between each class, I met Bella and we walked to her next class. At the end of the day, I'd meet her outside the gym and walk her to my car, then I'd drive her home. The only variation was the night that Carlisle called.

I had just dropped Bella off at her house, and was getting back into my car as she walked inside, when I felt my phone vibrate. I took it out of my pocket, opened and seeing it was Carlisle, I said, "Hi Dad."

"Jasper, I thought I should call and let you know that things have become very strange up here. Irina continues to haunt Edward and Tanya's every move, and whenever she can do something she knows might harm them in some way, even if its only temporarily, she takes advantage of it. Alice has been forced to become their constant companion, so she can let Edward know what Irina is planning. Twice now she's nearly succeeded in her intention to destroy them, and Edward despairs constantly about whether or not the two of them will be able to remain. Tanya has been so preoccupied with the trouble she's been having with Irina, she and Edward have finally been able to make it past Tanya's usual displays of behavior".

"I'm sure that's the one positive effect of the situation. Tanya is pretty incorrigible ordinarily." I said when Carlisle stopped for a moment. Then I felt I had to ask about Alice, "How is Alice doing?"

"Due in large part to the fact that Alice is forced to shadow Edward and Tany continually, Kate has become her constant companion. Kate's always been a sensible young woman, but she does have a frivalous side when it comes to shopping. She and Alice seem to have struck up a very tight bond, which is also helping Kate, as Irina has generally been her confidant. With recent events, Kate has lost all patience with Irina, and from that loss refuses to allow Tanya to leave. She's come to include Alice in this hope, and Alice doesn't appear to be inclined to leave at the moment, regardless I'm afraid."

I winced at Carlisle's words. If our last phone conversation was any indication, Alice wouldn't be in any hurry to return. I would need to talk to her soon. I decided I wanted to talk about something else, and so asked Carlisle about how the rest of them felt about everything that had been taking place.

Everyone is very dismayed with Irina, and her actions seemed to be fueled by a fear of what Edward's presence represents to her, a disunion between she and her sisters. Tanya is entirely devoted to Edward, and Irina sees it as a slight to herself. It truly is a battleground I'm afraid. Things have calmed lately by virtue of your brother and sister's presence. Having Emmett around has also improved Kate's temper, as Emmett's brashness frequently amuses her. As it stands however, it would seem no one will be going anywhere anytime soon. So I'm afraid Esme and I will have to remain here a while longer. I will need to return at the end of the week to retrieve some things and bring them back here, so I will see you then. My hope is that this won't continue much longer. I feel I've neglected the hospital for an unforgiveably long time."

I assured him I felt they would understand about family emergencies, and we soon ended the call.

Carlisle said he'd be back at the end of the week to pick a few things up that he needed.

I didn't mind his absence so much, because it allowed me to bring Bella to the house. On Wednesday evening I picked her up just after nine in the evening, and brought her back to the house. She ended up trailing off to sleep in my arms as I read to her, and she slept soundly, beautifully. The peace was like a rest for me. I allowed her to stay until the time I knew Charlie would begin waking. I took her back to her house, and the next two nights she did the same. On Saturday morning when she woke, I took her to breakfast.

After breakfast we returned to the house. I hadn't done anything about my own needs for many days, and being around Bella was beginning to cause me physical pain. I asked Bella to wait for me while I went out to hunt. I was gone for a very little time, I only moved as far away from the house as was strictly necessary to make certain I wasn't drawn to her scent as I hunted. It was as short a hunt as I'd likely ever taken. When I returned I saw that Carlisle's Mercedes was back in its normal space. I hurried into the house, assuming Bella might feel a little awkward, and wanting to avoid that.

The minute I stepped inside I heard three sounds that made my scars tingle slightly, and forced me into defense mode immediately.. The first thing I heard was a snarl, the second was the sound of Bella screaming, and the third was Carlisle's voice.

"Edward, NO! EDWARD!" I flew through the house to the kitchen where I could hear the sounds coming from. Bella was lying on the floor, Edward was standing over her with Carlisle the only thing between him and Bella. Carlisle was struggling and Edward's face was contorted with bloodlust.

I yelled out, "BELLA!" she cried back to me, "Jasper...Jah..." she broke down in sobs and I flew to her side and picked her up, and ran to my room. I'd no sooner set her down than I heard Edward snarling behind me. I turned around and dropped into a crouch myself.

I heard Carlisle's voice as though from a great distance. "Jasper, you should-"

Edward cut Carlisle off, "How dare you! What the _hell _is she doing here?" he snarl screamed at me

I snarled back, "That's my business Edward, back off it."

He simply growled and snarled, straining against Carlisle and vehemently chastising me.

He went on and on, his volume increasing, he howled for Bella behind me, and I snarled back. In my mind I warned him. He was reading it as much as he could, but the blood lust was taking over his determination. I could feel it coming off of him.

He moderated his control slightly for a moment. "You brought her _here_..you KNOW what she did to me in class that day, and you've brought her HERE! What could you have been thinking Jasper, are you trying to test me? And what about Alice? Is this fair to her?"

In my mind I apologized. _I'm sorry Edward, but truly, Carlisle only said he'd be coming home. I didn't realize anyone else would be with him. Alice knows about this, or at least she knows enough. I think she saw this coming, which is why she stayed so long in Denali with you._

He stepped forward, "Yes, but still...why HER??

I looked at the floor, my crouch disappearing as I stood to my full height. I looked up at him through my eyebrows, _I'm sorry Edward, I honestly never thought about you. For the last several weeks all I've thought of is her. I'm in love with her Edward_.

The black look in his eyes that had made him as feral as anything wild in the woods melted off his face and was replaced by complete astonishment. Edward too, stood up out of his crouch and just stared at me, shocked.

In that moment Bella called my name, "Jasper?"

I worried that turning my back on my brother might be a mistake, but he seemed to be preoccupied with his surprise. I called over my shoulder, "Yes, love?"

"Jasper, I, he...Jasper...it's burning."


	9. Butterfly

Chapter IX

Butterfly

I roared at Edward, turned back to Bella and was by her side in an instant. I looked her over, she had fresh bite marks across neck, I snarled in frustration and wheeled around to Carlisle, my eyes and my emotions crying out for his help. "I'm sorry Jasper, I tried to tell you, Edward had bitten her before I was able to stop him. Are you strong enough to suck the venom back out?" he asked me. I turned to Bella and tried to imagine through my terror and fear if I could manage it. As had always been a crucial point with my vampire family, I have never been strong. I dropped my head in shame, realizing what my subconscious already knew. "I couldn't Carlisle, I'd never be able to stop." He held Edward with both arms around his front, Edward still continued to strain and snarl in Bella's direction.

"Jasper, what's happening, it's burning. I can't take the burning! IT HURTS JASPER!" She began to scream then and I couldn't decide whether to try to help her or savage my brother. Edward looked at me and said, "Let me suck the venom out, I'll make sure I get it _all_." His expression darkened with the blood lust, and the idea of what he could imagine himself doing, when he saw me glaring at him, he dropped his eyes to the floor.

I walked over to Edward and took him to the floor. He struggled, but he knew he wasn't going to free himself of me. "Carlisle, do with her what you can. We're going to have to prepare to have another family member Carlisle. I'm sorry I've exposed us like this." I said to him.

Carlisle looked at me, "This isn't your fault Jasper. Let me see if there is anything I can do for her." he said as he walked to Bella.

My phone rang at that moment, I scowled and pulled it out with one hand, flipped it open and pressed it between my ear and my shoulder. It was Alice.

"He didn't Jasper, please tell me my foolish brother didn't do it?" she asked me. I glared down at Edward, who still struggled under my knee. He wasn't going to be going anywhere though.

"Yes. I'm afraid he did." I told her.

Alice snarled into the phone, "OH! I _hoped _he was just imagining it. Stupid,...ridiculous...I'm only supposed to have to worry after one of you at a time. Oh Jasper, you're in love with her, aren't you?"

Ashamed in some elemental way, I couldn't answer. "I'd already seen it Jasper, it was already beyond what I'd be able to stop, so I just decided to stay here, but this...poor Chief Swan. Does Edward the over-inflated, pompous...does he realize how bad this is going to be? The whole family will have to leave. The treaty has been broken. The Quileute's will be furious. We'll never be able to return to Forks again."

Bella screamed, I couldn't stand this, talking to Alice, feeling guilty all while I'm forced to face the fact that Bella was losing the one thing she'd returned to me, her humanity. "Alice, I can't talk about this right now, I can't think. Bella is screaming and she's in so much pain. I'm holding Edward down with both hands and I can't let him go or it will be far worse. I want nothing more than to talk to you, to explain things, but at the moment I need all my concentration just to keep from going insane. I'm sorry Alice, for everything. I'm just sorry - I have to go now." I closed the phone and shoved it back in my pocket. Edward turned his face up towards me.

"She's right, you know." he said. Shame seemed to have crept into his face. I could feel his guilt for what had happened. "I've destroyed everything, it isn't your fault Jasper. Anyone but her I'd have been able to resist. I just couldn't." He turned his face into the floor and I could tell he was in black agony. I lifted him off the floor to a standing position, and dragged him out of the house. Once we were outside, I released him. He turned around and faced me, we stood looking at each other. He searched my face for a moment and finding what he was searching for, he lowered his eyes. "Alice was telling the truth about that too. I am eternally sorry Jasper. I find myself torn by love for my sister, and a desire to see you happy, but I wouldn't have intentionally done anything to take it away from you."

I felt my body slump under the knowledge that Bella as I had known her was slipping away from me. We'd only just begun getting to know each other. She'd just learned to forgive me for what I'd done, and accepted what I am. This was a betrayal to her. I looked up towards my bedroom window. I could hear Bella's screams even down here. My entire body was tensed. When I looked forward Edward was studying me again. His face was tortured, and he lifted his hands out to me in a gesture of helplessness. I could feel fury trying to poke at me, but knew deep down being angry with Edward wasn't going to solve anything. "I think you should go Edward. At least until her cha...at least until it's over."

My anguish was becoming the dominant emotion for me, and I must have been radiating it, because Edward lifted his arm as if to comfort me, but then dropping them he turned and disappeared into the trees. Regardless of what he'd done, he was still my brother, and now that he was gone I felt the lonliest fear I'd ever known.

I made my way back up the stairs, wincing at Bella's screams and horrified that I could do nothing for her. As I tread even slower than human speed up the stairs I heard her call out my name. I was up the stairs and by her side in a moment. I laid my hand on her shoulder, she screamed my name again, calling out to me to save her from the burning I couldn't stop. I lifted my eyes to Carlisle, and silently begged him to say he could stop this, to help her. He closed his eyes, dropped his head and shook it back and forth negatively, there was nothing he could do. "I'm sorry Jasper. We can only wait now."

On the third day, as Bella lay still on my bed, Carlisle sitting by her with a medical journal in his hands, I left the room. She'd stopped screaming sometime during the night. Her pathetically slowing heartbeat crushed me everytime it pumped. I wanted to get away from the metronome of her life, that counted down the moments until it would end. I needed a moment to prepare myself. She was about to become a newborn, and would exemplify all the flaws inherent to that change. I walked out and down the stairs, through the front room and out the back door towards the river. I'd take a short walk and then return. I wanted to be certain I was there when Bella woke. The thought of what questions she might ask gave me an ache in my chest. Emotionally, I felt bruised and battered. The struggle of listening to her continual screams throughout the last two and a half days had taken its toll on me.

I walked along the river, listening to the sound of the water as it ran over the pebbles in the water and spoke calmingly to me. The speech of the river never included any emotions, just the mild timelessness of it's never ending flow. I sat down for a moment on a rock above the riverbank, I listened to the sounds of the world around me and let go of my emotions, they circled me and flowed with the air. I laid back and closed my eyes. When I allowed myself moments like this, I almost felt like my emotions were fingers, feeling their way around for the emotions of anything near me.

Suddenly there were emotions that weren't mine, tense, concerned. The new emotions joined up with the mists of my own and I sat up. I looked over my shoulder and saw Edward walking towards me. Alice was walking just before him. She danced her way over to me. I stood up and began walking towards them.

Alice made her way to me and took my hand. It was something she had done so many countless times before and I'd never really paid it much attention. This time it registered, and I looked from our clasped hands to her face. She smiled at me. "We've been inside and spoken to Carlisle, Jasper. He said it shouldn't be much longer."

I looked from her to Edward, he was looking down, visibly tormenting himself. I wanted to feel that his inner turmoil was justified, but as always I couldn't blame Edward for what he was any more than I could have blamed myself for all the moments of weakness I myself had had. "Edward," he looked up at me, and I inwardly staggered for a moment to have him look at me with unfamiliar red eyes, he recognized my reaction and looked away again. I took a deep breath and steadied myself, "Edward, look at me. I am tragically sorry that this has happened, and I'm terrified of what Bella's change will mean for us, for me, and for everything else, but I'm not angry Edward, and it's not going to do anyone any good for you to torture yourself. It happened. We will move on."

He'd turned back to me when I'd asked him to and we kept eye contact through my speech. When I stopped, Edward took a deep breath and nodded. We all began walking back towards the house and Alice spoke then.

"Jasper, we should be inside when Bella wakes up, then you're going to have your hands full for awhile. When all of that is said and done, I'll probably be back in Denali. Call me, because as you said, we need to talk." she smiled at me.

I looked back at her, "You're going back?" I asked. She nodded, "I only came down to make sure you were okay. You seem to have control of yourself, you seem...stronger somehow. That's what I saw that convinced me I should stay away. She's good for you Jasper." She arched her eyebrows in a mocking display of superiority, "Not as good as I am for you, but I could see you'd draw a certain strength from her. I see the effect that's had on you. I-I think..." she looked down, then turned her sweet and pixie like face back to me. "just call me, after everything has calmed down again." I nodded and said, "I will."

Edward had been hanging back a little during my conversation with Alice, but he stepped forward slightly between us then. "Jasper, Carlisle's getting ready to call you. Her heart rate has become entirely erratic and he feels she'll be walking up in just a few minutes." The end of his sentence was called out as I Alice and I released hands, and I ran into the house and up to my room.

I walked up to the bed she lay on. She had paled drastically as the venom filled her veins and destroyed the blood in them. It was a wonder to me how the human body didn't begin its immortality looking like a brisket considering the way the venom torched the blood. I could hear her heart beat now, "thud...thud, thud...thud..." Her body tensed a little in struggle and I realized I'd heard the last beat her heart would make.

Bella opened her blood-tinged eyes and looked into my own.

I let her accustom herself as her eyes rapidly took in the room around us, and accommodate themselves to the drastic changes her vision now showed to her. I stepped back slightly as she sat up, allowing her room when she was ready to stand. I looked at her then, her hair cascaded across her shoulders and down her front like a brown waterfall. Her pale skin was luminscent, and her eyes were like something that any man would happily lose himself in for eternity. Her body was softly rounded everywhere it should be, and lithely slim anywhere else. She was beautiful, there was no equal for her.

Her eyes searched the entire room, nothing escaped her attention, and the feelings of fascination she gave off were so strong she made me chuckle. She looked back at me. "Jasper?" she asked, I nodded.

She stood then her eyes no longer searching the room, only starting into me. Her expression changed, and settled into mild horror, "I've been changed, haven't I?" she asked me. This above all was the main question I was most dreading, I had no idea how she'd react when she learned the truth, and most of us hadn't dealt with the knowledge of what we'd become with grace.

I looked at her, "Yes." was all I could bring myself to say. She looked confused for a minute, and she turned her head again, and her gaze settled on Carlisle. She was smiling sweetly at him when the door opened, and Edward walked in. Bella turned her head to see who had come in, when she saw him, I could see the recognition in her eyes. Her brows furrowed and she growled, startling herself, her body jerking with it. She shot a look back at me, as Edward closed the door and came in. He was radiating guilt with every step. He walked over to her and stood before her, like a man awaiting his sentence from the judge, which I supposed wasn't an outrageous analogy.

"It's my fault Bella, I'm very sorry." She looked at him for only a moment, then back at me. "You...said...neither of us could help who we are." she said, I was surprised after her change that she'd remembered that story. "Yes, I did." I responded.

"So I'm now like him?" she asked me. I couldn't feel anything but curiosity coming from her, and couldn't figure out where she might be going with these questions, so I nodded in answer. She turned to Edward and said, "I can't help what you've made me anymore than you were able to help attacking me." she answered. She stepped toward the door then brushing past Edward dismissively. Edward turned and watched her walk away, relief washing the room around us.

"Jasper, my throat burns? Is there still more to my change?" she said, putting her hand to her throat. There was only a light crescent on her neck where the marks Edward had left with his bite had been.

"No Bella, that's the thirst." I explained. She looked horrified.

"Oh God, I need blood?" She whispered, aghast. Her voice was nearly as beautiful as she was.

"Let's go for a run and see what you can do?" I said. She looked at me strangely and said, "Will I kill?" I nodded again.

She looked as if she'd argue for a moment, then she suddenly stepped back and her shoulders slumped in resignation. "Then I guess I have to."

We stepped out the door, hand in hand and walked right into Alice.


	10. Breach

**A/N: I waited a really long time to update, shame on me. I know! Sorry about that. It took me awhile to come back to Humanity. Other plot bunnies kept jumping in my way. I've put a number of them on hold because I realized an update for this story was decidedly overdue. Some aspects of the story which took several books to happen in canon have been sped up here. I thought about pacing it a little slower and allowing time for a slower progression of events, but it would have drawn the story out to ridiculous lengths. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, I promise not to take as long with the next one.

Chapter X  
Breach

Bella and Alice stared at each other. I stood comically looking back and forth between them like a spectator at a tennis match. Alice took in Bella's new appearance from head to toe. She smiled and looked at me, "As soon as I knew she was going to change, I realized I was fascinated by how she'd look." Alice looked back at Bella and as she looked at her appearance a second time, a small crease between her eyebrows appeared, Bella was still and silent, her free hand on her throat.

"She'll need new clothes, won't she Jasper?" Alice said, turning to me again. Bella had finally regained her composure and she looked down at the ground below the steps. We still stood on the patio, running into Alice had stopped us before we'd even made it to the driveway.

"I'll arrange that much, then I'll go back to Denali with Edward." she turned and walked inside. I could see Edward just coming down the stairs through the window. Bella looked at him too, then to the tiny figure standing next to him.

She looked at me, "She's not seriously going to buy me clothes will she?"

"There's nothing Alice likes to do more than shop. I'm sure she does actually mean it." I looked back at Alice through the window again, and through the glass our eyes met, and I could see her pain. Edward put his arm around her shoulders, and she turned with him as they walked towards the back of the house. I was in a quandary with my feelings for Bella, as opposed to my life with Alice. I couldn't decide what to do, I only knew that Bella was a part of this family now, and I loved her. Bella's hand suddenly twitched in mine as she tensed. She looked at me with an unrecognizable emotion deep in her eyes. I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Something smells...good." she said, her breathing beginning to quicken. I could smell it then too. Human.

I crouched ready to spring, I knew Bella was going to run. It took her only moments to recognize the direction. When she ran, it was breathtaking. She was not only faster than any newborn I'd ever witnessed, Her sense of direction was unerring entirely. She was not as focused as I would have expected her to be. She was distracted occasionally, looking at things as she ran past them. I was barely keeping up with her. She ran, and ran and I followed her, she shot sideways and we were both running flat out.

I began to notice that mingled with the smell of human was a stench I'd never experienced before. Something like the animals we fed on, but stronger, muskier. I fought a reflex to gag at the vileness of the smell. Somewhere in my head a warning flag went up in my mind and all the stories Carlisle had told me about his first visit to Forks began to flash into my head. I called out to Bella, loudly. She was entirely unaware of the treaty line just a few hundred feet before us, and in her changed state, if she crossed it my entire family would be affected. I called out to Bella with a snarl and finally got her attention. She stopped completely and turned around to my approach. I stopped just next to her. "Bella, you can't go any further, there's...rules." I couldn't think of a way to describe it all to Bella. She had no idea there was a pack south of us. She might know about the tribe, probably did, considering Charlie was police chief for the whole area, including La Push.

"Rules?" she asked, looking at me confusedly.

I'd just have to come out and say it. "How much do you know about the Quileute Indian tribe?"

Her brow furrowed, and her face twisted in concentration. I could tell she was struggling to remember things that had probably been perfectly vivid three days ago, but were now dimmed from the trauma of changing.

"A bit, my Dad's best friend Billy is Quileute. His son Jacob's the one who worked on my truck after Tyler crashed into it."

"Do you know anything about their, history?" I asked evasively.

"Only legends that Jake told me when he was working on my car. He was nice." her eyes widened. "Jasper, am I ever going to be able to see any of them again?"

Her expression was shadowed by the pain she felt inside.

"I don't know, Bella. It's fairly obvious you've changed, and you're a newborn. I highly doubt you're going to be able to see any of them for a long time. I can't offer you any apology of large enough measure for that. This wasn't a complication I'd planned on having. I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to save you."

Bella stepped forward to me when I said this. "You couldn't have saved me, could you?"

"Yes, I could have, but I wasn't strong enough."

"How?" she asked.

"There was a moment, just after you were bitten when I could have sucked the venom out for you. I knew I'd never be able to stop myself once I started and Carlisle wouldn't interfere. He felt that with the complications you'd experienced so far in your human life, that the change might actually benefit you. However, he had no intention of changing you himself, nor by any of the family. He couldn't have foreseen the strength of your effect on Edward.

The smell that had been intensifying while we'd been running suddenly hit me again, much stronger than before. I crouched down low, trying to determine which direction it was approaching from.

I looked around us in all directions and growled while I pulled Bella behind me. Even as a vampire, that smell meant danger to her. It was the scent of the pack, the brothers. The protectors. Werewolves.

"Bella, we have to get out of here, _now_, right now!" I began pushing her away behind me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. "If I'm going, I'm not leaving without you." We turned ready to flee, but behind us, and slowly emerging all around us from between the trees, were wolves, four of them that I could see. A large shadowed figure, perhaps seven feet tall stood before us. The animosity and hatred coming off of him was physically painful. I lowered into a crouch, unable to stop the growl from rumbling in my chest. We were so vulnerable, and alone.

"You were close, too close, leech," he said.

Bella gasped, "Jacob!" I turned to look over my shoulder at her, and saw that she'd leaned around me to see who was speaking. Her eyes were wide, rounded in shock.

The dark figure before us shuddered and shook, his edges began vibrating. He spoke, but it was merely a whisper, there was no strength in his voice. "Bella. Damn it," then almost as an afterthought he said, "Charlie!"

I couldn't say anything, it was too apparent that retreating was the only response I could have. I turned and grabbed Bella's hand to run. I knew she'd keep up with me easily. Behind us I heard the scraping, scratching and thundering sound of the pack pursuing us. Howls went up to the sky from behind us, and made the hairs on the back of my neck raise in a dim memory from my human existence.

I ran for a few hundred yards, then vaulting a stone outcrop, fled into the trees, still keeping Bella's hand firmly in my grasp.

We traveled through the trees to the house. We had only a short period of time before the pack would arrive. I hit the meadow before the house screaming for Carlisle.

"Denali, Carlisle. Now! The treaty. The pack. They're just behind us. Bella constitutes a breach." As I said the last words, Bella and I slid to a stop in the living room where Carlisle and Edward were looking at each other. Edward nodded in answer to something he must have read in Carlisle's thoughts, and looking at us said, "Let's go." I stepped after him, pulling Bella after me.

Edward looked over his shoulder and called sharply, "Alice."

He turned suddenly, and stopped. Seeing the direction of his attention, I turned to look also. Alice was standing halfway down the stairs wearing the blank stare I knew meant she was having a vision. She was looking over all of our heads, Carlisle interrupted her, which I'd rarely seen him do.

"Alice, timing is imperative here. We are criminals in the worst sense and there is a lynch mob nearly at our door step." His face was terribly stern.

Her focus fell down onto our group, she looked all of us over. She paused momentarily on Bella, then looked at me. "We have to split up. We're going to have to run for the shore, and then swim for it. After we return to land, I have to go a different direction."

I frowned. "Alice, Bella's never been in the water before, she's an absolute newborn, and she hasn't fed yet."

"It's alright Jasper, it'll work out and everything is going to be fine. Trust me."

"What if we just drive to Sea-," I began.

Alice cut me off, "We can't drive, we don't have enough time Jasper, please, just trust me." The pleading look in her eyes was heart wrenching.

"FINE. Fine, I'll trust you, but get us out of here, now!"

"Honestly, Jasper, you're making me feel as if you've never really known me at all." Alice said in a testy tone. Thankfully she said it as she stepped down the remaining steps, to the front door and began running with all of us trailing her.

We ran for the cliffs. Throughout the forest I could hear nothing, but the stench of the pack was near. I knew it wasn't going to take long before they caught up to us. What that would mean for our entire family was something I couldn't concentrate on.

As we reached the open beach, and the bay north of first beach, I chanced a look at Bella. She looked terrified. After she locked eyes with me for a moment, she turned so she was facing forward. She looked out across the water. I stepped up behind her and put my hands on her upper arms.

"Bella, this is actually a place we excel. We don't need to breathe, it's a habit, so we can travel in water without no difficulty at all. Also, there's our strength. We aren't troubled by much more resistance than we are by air, so we move very quickly through the water."

It was as Bella steeled herself, and took her first tentative steps into the water that I heard the first footpads striking the earth. I could feel the animosity coming from the pack, it was all together awful.

I turned my head back, I couldn't see them, but we could all smell them now. The smell of the ocean seemed to be keeping it clear for Bella.

"Quickly now, Bella. Once you accustom yourself, we need to move." I tried to keep the urgency out of my voice, but Bella looked over her shoulder behind her anyway.

She stepped into the water and immersed herself. My family and I followed her in, forming a protective V behind her, with me at the point, directly behind Bella.

She began swimming and we all stretched our arms out and began pulling ourselves deeper into the water, leaving the northern tip of First beach in our wake. We were about 250 feet out into the water, and safely distant from the beach when the howls began. Bella gasped and turned around to look back at the beach.

The entire pack of wolves was pacing back and forth on the beach. They were enormous. I'd heard of the legends, I'd been informed of their size by Carlisle's stories of when he was here before, but I hadn't ever actually seen one of them in their wolf form.

My family treaded water, watching the wolves run up and down the beach howling in irritation. Suddenly a voice carried out, I turned and saw a Jacob stepping out of a screen of trees, "We'll find you, and you will pay for what you've done. Bella, don't do this to Charlie, come back so we can help you work it out with him."

I could feel Bella was fluctuating in her feelings as they related to her father. "Bella, he's been sworn to protect the reservation. He can't do anything else, and being friends with your father won't stop him from killing you. He's trying to lure you in. Don't fall for it."

Bella looked at me with defiance sharp in her eyes at my blunt statement. But looking at my face, she saw the truth in my expression. She softened, and turned toward the open water again.

The Olympic peninsula doesn't offer a lot of beach front property for prospective buyers to look at, unless you wish to live somewhere along the coast of Puget Sound. Carlisle felt that was too populated to be safe for our kind on a general basis, especially with my inability to contain myself. So we chose inland, suburban, and basically hidden. So it is that most of the beaches along the Pacific facing side of the peninsula are owned by various Indian tribes. The same cannot be said for Vancouver Island.

There's less of the familiarly stifling forest to be found near the coastline of the island. Otherwise the look of the place, its rural urbanity, is very similar to Forks. We came out of the water, and all climbed onto a precarious boulder, perched atop an alarmingly smaller stone base. We remained there for a time, waiting for our clothes to be as dry as our skin.

Bella turned to me as we lay there, "Will he follow me? Was he telling the truth?"

"Yes, he believes you're the enemy now, he believes I'm responsible for that. Neither of us is safe in Quileute territory now. In fact, none of us are. I imagine the house in Forks will have to be entirely abandoned."

"Jasper, what about Charlie? I can't leave him wondering what happened to me. He'll go crazy and I won't have that on my conscious." Her face was frozen in an amazingly beautiful obstinate expression. I thought about various options we had, but only one seemed feasible. The real question was whether Bella wanted Charlie crazy with worry, or crazy with anger.

"I have an idea about that, but I'm not sure it's going to feel like a much better option than leaving him wondering what happened. The only benefit I can see is that it will keep him from putting out a warrant for my arrest." I felt myself smiling slightly.

Bella was curious, I could feel her curiosity, but she was also feeling skeptical. "You tell me the option, and I'll tell you what I think of your idea."

"You could call Charlie and tell him we've eloped, to Canada. Tell him we're honeymooning in Alaska because the family has a cabin there." I'd begun the explanation with a strong voice and firm resolve. However, as I explained, Bella's eyes grew wider, and as a result my voice grew quieter...weaker.

"Hmmm?" She finally said as I waited, "Yes, you're right, he wouldn't put out a warrant for your arrest. Of course, he might show up on our doorstep with a _shotgun_!" She cried out.

"Bella, I don't think your Father would be a problem, angry or not. The thing is, we have to keep him from suspecting us of foul play. Also, if he does decide to follow us, it will keep Jacob from being able to tell him the truth. It wouldn't be a bad thing to get Charlie away from his friend on the reservation for now."

Suddenly Bella's face went slack and her emotions went wild. I sat up and pulled her into a sitting position next to me, "Bella? What is it?"

Her eyes took a moment to focus on mine, "Jasper, _will _we have to get married? Really?" The anxiety I could feel was over-powering.

I put my hand over hers. "Only if you want to, Bella. I won't force anything on you." I replied, trying to allay the fears that seemed to be consuming her.

Her eyes focused off me again so I leaned sideways, into her line of sight trying to pull her back, eye to eye with me. Irritated, she pushed my head aside with her hand. Then she spoke to someone behind me.

"Alice? Did you see something about me marrying Jasper?"

"Yes!" Alice answered in a perky tone, but then she frowned, "I mean no, well, I did see a vision of you two getting married at one point, but no, that's not what I was just seeing."

"So what were you seeing?" I asked her.

Alice's face became very serious suddenly. So much so, that I could feel the curiosity coming from all my family around and behind me.

"Jasper, do you remember me telling you that I saw you long before I met you. That from the first moment I can remember, I began seeing visions of you?" I nodded in response, not wanting to speak and interrupt her. "Do you also remember I told you that I started seeing visions of Bella, including seeing her changed into one of us?" Alice tilted her head in Bella's direction in a significant way.

"Yes, but Alice..."

"I have a point, Jasper, trust me." I frowned in consternation. Never, in all the years I'd known her had I ever failed to trust Alice.

"When we were leaving the Forks house, I said we were going to have to split up, and that I'd have to go a different direction."

I sighed deeply. "Alice, please?"

"When I went up to Denali with Edward, I started getting visions of someone new, a boy. Rather, at first he seemed like a boy, but as things began to become clearer, I realized he was just a very beautiful young man, who still looked very young. I've had several visions of him since. As the focus of the visions began to sharpen something occurred to me. I had visions of both of you at a time when you needed me, needed my guidance." Alice looked back and forth between Bella and me, but I could tell she meant this information for everyone. "I don't have random images of those I haven't meant yet, they're very specific. I've decided its because I'm meant to help those I have visions about, during times of transition. You see, this young man, he's human. His style of dressing, and the places I've envisioned him in seemed to indicate he didn't live anywhere on this continent, but I'd never seen anything that would tell me where I could find him until today. Just before we left I had a vision about him, and it told me two things. One is that his name is Andres, the other is that he's being followed, and isn't even aware of it. I saw our kind following him, and I finally saw a landmark I recognized. I have to go, he's in danger and I only hope I'll make it in time."

Carlisle spoke for the first time in hours, "Is there any hope that you might be able to wait? I'd prefer not to be blind when the pack comes searching for us."

"I could, Carlisle. Andres would likely be dead when I reached him though."

Bella surprised everyone by answering. "Go Alice. It would have been nice to have you save me. Go and be the angel."

I looked at Alice as she smiled at Bella. She cocked her head to one side and looked up as if she was considering it, "Hmm? The angel? I like it. Thank you, Bella." and Alice stepped forward and hugged Bella tightly. Emmett gasped, Rosalie scoffed, I started, Carlisle shook his head and Edward growled. Alice discounted them all at once, "I'm sorry that things have happened the way they have, Bella, but I think I'm going to like having you as a sister."

Alice walked over and hugged each of us in turn. She walked up to me, and stood on her tiptoes. She reached up and placed a hand on my cheek. "Jasper, take care of Bella, but please remember to take care of yourself, too."

I took her hand off my cheek and held it in both of mine. "You too Alice, and send word whenever you can."

She nodded and then ran off, away from the beach and towards the south. I watched until she disappeared.

When I turned around, Bella was looking at me. "Did that make this easier Jasper?" I could feel the concern she was feeling, as well as see it in her eyes.

She couldn't know, couldn't imagine, that nothing about any of this was easy.


	11. Sacrifice

Chapter XI

Sacrifice

Now that Alice had gone her separate way, and we were moving on towards Denali, it became apparent that we were going to have to do something about Charlie. Bella took my phone, and after a long, stutter-filled, somewhat loud conversation, she'd told Charlie the eloping story, and where we were "honey-mooning."

After the phone call, everyone was basically dry enough to keep moving. We crossed Vancouver Island, which was a mountainous stretch of land. It was beautiful, but on the outer edges of the Olympics, it was a land of many summits. We traveled a generally northern direction and took to a trail near the peaks of the terrain, avoiding the valleys and crevices as much as possible to save time. Not needing to breathe truly was of great assistance in situations like this.

We arrived in a city called Kokish, and after consulting local maps and a few conversations with Carlisle, we stone-stepped and swam across the islands south of the city until we reached the coast of Canada proper.

After more land travel, we found ourselves in the city of Kingcome, BC. Edward smirked in a bitter way, leaving me wondering what caused the expression. "I was just thinking we have finally reached Kingdom come."

I made a pained face, and glanced at Bella who rolled her eyes. I heard Carlisle grunt, and breathe out a soft "Edward."

We were keeping to the coast, and I was searching the map for the next place we could stop. Smiling, I read from the map. "Bella Bella."

Mistakenly assuming I was calling her, Bella turned around and looked at me. I lifted my head to look at her, with a smile on my face. "No, the next place we'll stop, it's called Bella Bella.

Bella frowned and looked at the ground. I was concerned, "Bella? What is it?"

She lifted her eyes back to meeting mine, "Why do we need to stop?" I opened my mouth to answer, but Carlisle cut me off. "We need to commission a helicopter for the remainder of the trip to Denali there."

I said, "I think we'll have to stop in Juneau. That's a pretty long leg by helicopter."

Carlisle shook his head in agreement. "Very true, it will probably be a welcome relief for you, Bella."

"How so?" she questioned Carlisle.

Carlisle's face became grave as he answered, "Bella, you're going to be in a very tiny space for several hours...with a _human_."

Bella shuddered and sank onto a rock. "Oh no, I'm not sure I can do this, Jasper, I don't think, what if I...I can't afford to-. Holy crow!"

I went to her side, "It'll be fine, Bella. I know you're worried you don't have the strength, but we'll just make sure you hunt on our way. We have plenty of miles to cover. Surely even in this wasteland, you can find something."

Bella looked at me, I could feel her exasperation. She nodded, with a very nervous look on her face.

"Don't worry, Bella. Keeping you from danger is as much for our benefit as it is for yours." Edward added from behind me.

"We'll all be there, Bella. I'm sure it will be fine." Carlisle answered, frowning at Edward.

We arrived in Bella Bella late in the afternoon. We made sure Bella hunted several times along the way. She was absolutely full, and I hoped that was enough. My experience with newborns was that it wouldn't be easy either way, but I told her it was going to be just fine.

We found the local airport, and from there Carlisle received instruction on where we could look into renting a helicopter. There weren't any available, so we opted for a small private jet.

I watched a television which had been awkwardly mounted in a corner of the rental office, and was showing the news. The weather report was on, and it looked as if snow was headed towards Alaska. I smiled to myself, a fresh blanket of snow was always so peaceful and beautiful. The world was reborn with snowfall

The jet was likely the better option, because the jets cockpit was closed off by a door from the passenger area. It belonged to some corporate executive who was in British Columbia visiting a sick family member. It was a very comfortable plane, and we were secluded once on board.

I watched the runway disappear beneath us as we powered up for take off. As we approached the end of the runway, gliding over the area where the trees reclaimed the open spaces for their own, I saw four muzzles nose their way through the trees. I looked at Bella to see if she'd seen them. Thankfully she hadn't. I looked back out the window, and four dark-skinned, now upright figures watched us fly over their heads.

I heard my brother's voice, "Jasper?" I looked back at Edward, his expression questioning. I nodded my head, and caused Bella to look between us.

"What?" she asked, concerned she was missing something. I could feel her confusion.

"I was just wondering if we would make it to Denali before the storm arrived. Thoughts aren't private around Edward however, as I'm sure you've found."

Edward turned his head towards her, and looked stern for a moment.

"Actually, I can't hear Bella." he said, slightly annoyed. "I never could. Even before I left for Denali. The silence was and is, very distracting."

A quiet, whisper of a voice spoke, so soft it took me a moment to realize it was Bella's, "Y-you can read everyone's mind, except for m-mine?" Her eyes were round and wide.

"Yes, and I have no idea why that is. It's unprecedented in the whole of my existence." Edward looked at her with a penetrating expression, and I could feel a slight feeling of animosity coming from him.

"Great! I'm different, from...everyone." she whispered the last word. She hadn't realized that we could all hear her regardless, but everyone kept quiet and gave her privacy.

I looked back at Bella, who was frowning and staring out the window. I took a cue from Edward's words, and decided a distraction from her thoughts would be wise, "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like an anomaly." she grunted.

I chuckled, "No, I meant is the pilot causing you any trouble?"

She looked at me in confusion for a moment, then my meaning became clear for her. "Oh, you mean ... no, I - I'm fine."

She looked at Carlisle, "I'm sorry you can't have an attendant because of me."

"There's no need for you to be, we're perfectly capable of managing on our own. We arrange flights without attendants whenever possible." he said, an unusually playful glint in his expression. Carlisle seemed to like Bella, and I was pleased to note it.

Edward had overcome the initial guilt he'd had for attacking her, and now appeared to feel a mild hostility towards her. Not being able to read her mind must be truly troubling him.

The vibration of my phone caught my attention, it was a text from Alice. "Buy jackets as soon as you land in Anchorage, it will help you on the road to Denali."

I looked at Edward, who gave a humorous "Hmmph" and shook his head.

The flight was quiet until we passed over Prince William Sound. Bella began asking questions. "What is it like in Denali?"

Carlisle spoke first, "It's beautiful, Bella. I'm sorry for what's happened with you, but as a human, it would likely be too cold there at this time of year for you if you were still human.

"What is the Denali family like? Will they be angry with me?"

Edward answered Bella's question this time, "Actually, I fled back to them because of you, so at the moment Tanya at least is rather grateful to you. Though she's been preoccupied by what's been going on with Irina and hasn't paid it much attention, I know she feels very grateful. Irina may feel overtly mutinous towards your presence, so none of us can tread too cautiously.

I hadn't considered how Irina would feel towards Bella. I leaned closer to her, and lifted my arm around her back, feeling protective.

We landed soon after, and I moved quickly to get Bella off the plane before she caught the scent from the pilots.

As we came down the steps from the jet, I looked over my shoulder at Carlisle. "Can I take Bella back to that park we passed over? I'm sure we could find something for her. She's gone a long time without ..." as I finished the sentence I noticed Bella looking at me with an expression of horror and couldn't complete my description.

Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder, and touched his fingers to Bella's elbow with his other hand. "I'm sorry, Bella, but it's probably a good idea." She dropped her head, she wouldn't argue, and I knew she was reaching into her hidden reservoir of strength to accept what she had to do, but the feelings of self-loathing coming from her broke my heart.

I found myself unconsciously glaring at Edward, a tiny bubble of blame percolating into my mind for his indiscretion against her. The bubble burst as soon as he turned his head and our eyes met. Whatever I'd thought in that moment of unprotected avarice caused Edward's face to wear a challenge. I lowered my head slightly, and looked at him apologetically.

Unaware of the exchange which had taken place between us, Bella didn't catch the edge in Edward's tone, nor his double meaning, "We'll work it out, we'll find the resolution which works best for everyone."

I was grateful she'd mistaken his menace.

I took Bella hunting all over the park at the tip of the runway. The weather didn't effect us, which made tracking prey easier. Following the hunt, in which Bella took down several local animals, we ran to the Denali house in Kantishna.

The area that the house was in had previously been a small gold mining encampment. The homes of the locals were still in use.

I decided to take her in to the Denali house by a longer direction, so she would see the things I'd always found so beautiful about this cold, frozen land.

There was a waterfall I knew from past visits, which was usually frozen solid at this time of year. You could still see the water falling down the inner side, but on the outer edge, a long shelf of frozen water directed the flow down into the rocks below.

Bella and I stepped through the trees before it. She gasped and exclaimed when she saw it. "Jasper! This is beautiful."

I chuckled at her reproachful tone, "I'm very selective on who I allow to see it."

She cut her eyes at me, and walked under the gleaming sheet of frozen water. I smiled playfully and followed her. Just as I stepped onto the bank of land behind the fall, I froze. I caught the scent of a nearby animal. The scent blew away as quickly as it had come. I scanned the surrounding area for a moment longer to satisfy my concern.

We stood under the falls looking through the frozen sheet. Bella stood transfixed and silent for some time. She finally spoke.

"I don't think I remember things the way I should, but there is something I keep thinking of. It seems to be the beginning of everything that has happened to me, lately." she finished. She looked at me with a look of concern, as if unsure of something, and I could feel her uncertainty.

"Bella, we've been through this before. Ask what you wish, I'll answer you to the best of my ability."

"I understand that Edward had to leave because he wanted my blood, but I don't understand why he attacked me so suddenly at the house in Forks."

"Well a part of that was because I didn't consider that Edward might return with Carlisle. There's a more complicated explanation to why Edward attacked you in Forks. I'm sorry that I didn't realize the danger. I'm haunted by the realization that if I'd had a little prescience of thought, I might have prevented what happened to you. You see, when Edward first encountered you and had to flee to Denali, it was your blood. There were other kids in that room with the two of you. Their blood made him thirsty, but yours was different. Yours made him ravenous, it made him forget everything Carlisle had taught him. He nearly risked everything, our life, our repuations, all the kids in your class and you. Your blood was that potent for him. I've never come across anyone who has that affect on me.

"Everything Edward told me, and everything I could feel from him as he explained was overwhelming. I hope I never do come across anyone who is for me, what you are to Edward."

"So, I was a pull on him so strong he could barely resist?" Bella looked sheepish.

"Yes, and he fled then because of it." I shifted from foot to foot in discomfort, "When he found you in our house, alone, vulnerable and drawing him so strongly, it was irrisistable. He lost control." I looked down in shame. "We were lucky to stop him before he killed you, Bella. I can't imagine if..." I trailed off, unable to continue.

Bella walked to me and put her hand on my cheek. "It wasn't your fault, Jasper. I don't blame you. I don't even think I can blame Edward. I just wish it hadn't happened, because I don't know what I'm going to do about Charlie, and Renee is going to have a fit eventually.

Suddenly, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I sprang away before thinking, and was after whatever was moving without a goodbye to Bella.

Whatever it was, was fast, I inhaled deeply crashing through the snow covered Alaskan plantlife. Mostly bare skeletal branches scraped my untouchable skin as I flew by. The scent was wolf, and not just any wolf, werewolf. I could feel feelings of fear and also something I couldn't quite identify. Suddenly the scent swelled up around me. I recognized that in the path ahead, there were more than just one of the wolves. I leaped high up into some sort of pine and stayed above.

From my vantage point I watched as a small, sand colored wolf moved out of the white drifts below. Just ahead of its path were a dozen others of his kind. They circled each other, pacing and bellowing. the small wolf ran into the center. He stood his ground, growling and barking at the others. A large reddish brown one stepped towards him and snarled loudly. The sand colored wolf cowered a little, hanging its head, but to me, it looked as if he was arguing with the larger wolf. The small pack seemed very agitated, and after a few moments, the large red wolf whipped its enormous head in the direction the smaller wolf and I had come from, and snarled again. The small sand-colored wolf turned and ran off back toward where I'd first seen him, back toward...

It took half a thought to realize he was heading towards Bella, before I was airborne again. I flew through the trees until I hit the ground and ran. I caught up to the smaller wolf and tackled him. I snarled every bit as fiercely as the alpha wolf this one had just left behind had. The smaller wolf fought to get free, but didn't attack me at all. Eventually he worked his way free and jumped behind a grouping of white blanketed bushes, sending a spray of snow into the air. I curled myself down, preparing to spring when suddenly a tall, gangly dark-skinned boy jumped out before me. He held both hands out in a gesture of surrender. I froze in surprise.

"Okay, okay...stop!" he said.

I recollected myself and crouched down. He was a kid, but I wasn't taking any chances.

"I'm not going to get away, so kill me if you have to."

I looked at him in awe. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"It's called surrender, man. I'd really like it if you could not bite me though." Despite the tension, or perhaps because of it, I laughed.


End file.
